First and foremost, I am NOT an attorney. However, I work with hundreds of them across the country. And, one of the most popular questions I get from families when we start their special needs life planning process is
“How do I know which estate planning attorney is right for our family?”
This is an excellent question, because (much like doctors) not all attorneys are created equal when it comes to special needs planning. Just because they’re an estate planning attorney in general does NOT mean they are qualified to do this type of work for you and your family. You’ll definitely want to do a little bit of research before deciding on hiring the right one.
When I began my financial planning practice, I knew Dan and I needed an overall estate plan…and in that plan needed to be a Third Party Special Needs Trust for Hudsyn. A Special Needs Trust is basically a document that allows us to dedicate money, real estate or other assets to Hudsyn without disqualifying her from federal benefits like Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Traditional Medicaid or other means-tested programs that will be critical to her care after she becomes an adult (turns 18). If you save or dedicate money directly to a kiddo like Hudsyn, anything over $2,000 in most states is a countable asset…which means anything over that can disqualify her from these important benefits.
I started asking friends, family and colleagues for estate planning attorneys I could interview. I did NOT want to take a chance that we worked with an attorney who had little to no experience in the area of protecting benefits for kids or adults with special needs. I treated this much like I treat building her medical team – when we need a new specialist, we always have a few “interviews” or care meetings with the new doctor to make sure they understand her complexity before we formally engage. We can’t risk having someone that isn’t willing to communicate with the rest of her team nor has a good deal of experience in their specialty.
After interviewing 86 estate planning attorneys in the Kansas City metro area, I found a handful I was satisfied with. Ok, ok….maaaaybe I went a little overboard in spending THAT much time researching, but I wanted a few to choose from (and because of what I do professionally), it became important to know all of our options.
After this many meetings with a variety of estate planning attorneys here locally, I whittled down the list of questions I created to the most important ones to ask. Below is that list and it should easily assist you in determining the best fit for your situation.
8 Key Questions to Ask:
- How long have you been working with special needs families? How long with your practice/firm? (If less than 5 years, ask a little more about their previous experience and any reason for job change).
- Why do you serve special needs families? (Are you a parent as well?)
- How many Special Needs Trusts have you written? Is this the primary focus of your practice/firm?
- What states are you licensed to serve families in?
- Have you ever defended a Special Needs Trust in Medicaid court or had to ask for opinion on language from the state on any type of Special Needs Trust?
- What is your pricing range and what does that include? (It’s important you ask if a special needs trust is extra or included in the overall estate plan if you need both.) Sometimes attorneys will offer a “package” price versus a stand-alone price when needing more than one document drafted.
- What is your upcoming schedule like? How long will this potentially take considering we get back to you on information in a reasonable amount of time?
- If we choose to work with you, what are the next steps and how do we become a client?
Based on the above answers, you should get a fairly good idea if the attorney you’re interviewing is truly in the niche of special needs planning. Other ways to check their credentials and industry knowledge might include:
What does their website say? Is it primarily focused on special needs planning? I once had an attorney tell me he “drafts a ton” of special needs trusts each year. Yet after reading his website, it seemed the primary focus of his practice was on helping people with bankruptcy. After further looking at his online reviews and references, he really wasn’t in the niche of special needs planning but instead viewed it as an “add-on” to his practice.
Are they listed on the Academy of Special Needs Planners (Special Needs Answers) website?: The ASNP is an extremely well-regarded organization that both estate planning attorneys and financial advisors belong to when serving families who have a special needs dependent. They offer conferences to these professionals which help them stay abreast of all law changes and important updates in each state and federally. Professionals are charged a fee to be members of this organization.
Are they referenced when you search their name on the Special Needs Alliance?: This is another national organization comprised of mainly attorneys that help inidividuals with disabilities, their families and the professionals who serve them. Many of their members have loved ones with special needs so they “get it.” I love their search function (a map image) that allows you to search by state for an attorney near you. Attorneys must pay a fee to be included on this search function so it helps you know they’re committed to serving families like ours.
Have they contributed to a published article, written a book, or been a speaker at a conference on special needs planning?: Those who are truly in this space will be easy to find online. They will offer a newsletter, have consistent content and information on special needs planning offered regularly to their community.
Compare pricing but don’t always shop for the least expensive: Those that are extremely experienced in this space may charge a bit more than those who are just getting started in special needs planning. Depending on where you live geographically, and how complex your particular family’s situation is, usually determines price. As of the date of this post, in the Midwest, we generally like to see between $2,000-$3,000 for a basic estate plan that includes a Special Needs Trust. However, you may need more complex or intensive work like guardianship, conservatorship, removing or litigating an existing trustee, editing an existing trust, etc. If you’re in this latter category, be sure to ask even more detailed questions on your specific need. Remember, estate planning attorneys draft and review documents…they do not sue people or deal much in family law (custody battles, divorce, etc).
Do your homework before hiring an estate planning attorney to draft documents for an adult or child with special needs. It’s also extremely important they are a good fit with your family (personality, price, etc) before hiring. You do not want these documents to be drafted incorrectly, for fear your child could risk losing their benefits after you’re gone. You also want to work with someone you can consult with later should things change in the future and the planning needs updated.
