There is no formal area of practice called “life planning.” So why do I call myself a life planning attorney? What services do I provide, and how are my services different from what other attorneys provide?
A life planning attorney evaluates your current financial and legal status, and analyzes potential problems that may arise in the future. A life planning attorney will create a customized “life plan” that addresses those future problems.
When I decided to start my own law practice, I struggled with how to describe my services to others. I knew that I wanted to educate and advise clients on legal strategies to not only avoid litigation, but also on how to use their assets to the fullest extent to live the life they desire.
Generally, my “formal” areas of practice are estate planning and elder law. I am also familiar with other areas of practice such as unlawful detainers, civil litigation, etc. By pigeon-holing myself into one area of practice, it was difficult to explain how my approach differed from other attorneys because everyone had a preconceived notion of each area of practice.
My goal is to help clients celebrate life. Hence, life planning.
Life planning is a holistic approach
I provide a holistic view on what steps a client should take in order to achieve their short and long term goals. Clients are encouraged to discuss anything with me during the initial consultation and planning meeting, even if seems to be unrelated to the services I am currently providing. Through an open dialog, we can analyze all the potential areas that a client needs legal help.
For example, Bob needs help trying to how to pay for long term care for his mother. His mother became incapacitated due to dementia but Bob can’t care for her at home anymore. Further, he would like to save his mother’s house since it was the family home and his sister and her family is living there. A life plan for Bob would filing a conservatorship action for his mother, exploring whether she needs to apply for Medi-Cal to pay for long term care, arranging for a backup caregiver for his mother should Bob be become incapacitated, evaluating how the family home can be protected in a fair manner, and preparing estate planning documents for Bob. Also, since Bob owns a small business, a life plan would also examine his business policies and procedures to ensure he is protected from liability.
Further, I encourage my clients to keep in touch with me so we can update their life plan as needed. Otherwise, a carefully thought-out life plan may become useless.
A life plan must cost more, right?
A life plan doesn’t cost more. I don’t charge a premium for clients who say they specifically want a life plan over those clients who come in for a limited purpose.
Life planning is my style, my approach. A life plan is merely a my way of evaluating what services you may want to consider have done; every attorney does this to some extent as part of the consultation. A life plan may simply be guidance for you to do certain tasks on your own, in essence giving you control over what you pay for. A life plan differs from what many other attorneys do because it indicates my ongoing commitment to you to ensure that your needs are being met.
Whenever possible, any services I provide are billed on a flat fee basis so you are clear on the fees and costs for the scope of services provided. In addition, I offer free initial telephone consultations so we can evaluate whether we would work well together. I offer flexible meeting times, and am willing to travel to you (within reason).
If you decided to proceed, you’ll find that my fees are highly competitive and you get more value for your money.