I answer a lot of phone calls.  Many of the calls are for people who want my help with their will, trust, or estate planning, but other calls are not about that.  Because I have the word “estate” in the description of what area of law I practice, I also get a lot of calls for real estate law.  The word “estate” in common between these two areas of law can cause people searching for a real estate matter to confuse my area of law with what they need.

Most times, when people call and ask about an area of law in which I do not practice, I will tell them I am the wrong type of attorney, and I often give them a referral – the name and contact information for someone who does practice in the area they need.  Most of the time this satisfies the caller and they go on with the rest of the day after talking to me.  But, every once in a while I get someone who becomes quite angry, demanding that I help them in what they need.  I even had someone tell me they could tell I hadn’t really passed the bar exam because I was unable to answer a question related to construction litigation.  In that particular conversation I was just about to give them the name of a friend of mine who could help, but I declined to refer the angry caller to my friend after the caller yelled at me.

I do understand that there are some attorneys out there who are general practitioners, and they will take on most everything.  I also know that there is a base level of knowledge we all received as attorneys in law school…and that knowledge was tested when we took the bar exam to become licensed as attorneys.

However, as attorneys start working, we tend to become specialized in the area of law we practice, so many of the other areas of law become less of what we know.  I believe that is the case with most professions, and it is true of attorneys. I landed in the area of estate planning, and I enjoy that area of law.  I get to help people and because I enjoy helping people, I think I have become pretty good at what I do.  I have also become busy enough that all of my time is accounted for with estate planning clients, so I don’t really feel like I need to expand my practice to help more people than I already am.

 

I Enjoy Estate Planning

I didn’t always know that I wanted to be an estate planning attorney.  I went to law school to become a criminal prosecutor and put the bad guys away.  Unfortunately, I found out that I don’t love trial work, and that is a lot of what being a prosecutor is about, so I had to change my plans.

My first job out of law school was working as a tax attorney.  I was happy to have the job, but I found myself not really loving the work.  I often would help dig clients out of tax problems, just for them to get further behind in a few months, so the work I had done was almost wasted.  That was frustrating to me.

When I started helping people with their estate plans, I found I was able to put people’s minds at ease concerning the aftermath of death.  I helped people find ways to pay for final expenses and I set up plans to allow an orderly transfer of assets to whomever the person chose, not the default laws passed by legislators who did not know the client or the client’s situation.  I received many “Thank you” cards from clients, and I found I really enjoyed setting up estate plans.  I felt like I was helping people in the world, and I enjoy helping people!

 

Because I Enjoy Estate Planning, I Have Become Good At It

In general, people tend to become better at what they do, and they tend to do what they enjoy.  In my case, because I enjoy estate planning and because I do it all the time (and it makes me enough to take care of my family!), I have become fairly good at estate planning.  I have heard the adage that it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert in something.  I am not sure that is completely true, but over the past 14 years of exclusively working as an estate planning attorney, I have accumulated over 10,000 hours of experience.

If I did not enjoy estate planning, I don’t know that I would have wanted to dedicate that amount of time and effort to estate planning.  Fortunately, I enjoy helping people and I enjoy getting people’s affairs in order from an estate planning perspective.  I like the people I work with and I want to keep doing what I am doing.  Because I focus on estate planning, I am not a “jack of all trades, and a master of none,” but rather I am a competent practitioner of estate planning.  Calling myself a “master” seems a little bit too conceited, even for an attorney like me!

 

I Also Am Not Sure I Have Time to Expand My Practice Areas

I do spend the required time to keep up on changes in estate planning law, especially as it relates to wills, trusts, and related areas of law.  But, my schedule is full with estate planning appointments, document signings, and calls explaining documents to clients, so that they are ready to get everything signed.  At this point, I am booking about 3 months in the future, and my schedule is booked solid for those 3 months…all day, every day from 9 am to 5 pm.

As much as I would like to work more hours, cutting into the time I can spend with my children and spouse, I am fully aware that there are a finite number of hours in a day or a week, and that my time with my children is quickly passing.  My oldest started college this past week, so I no longer have her at home, and I don’t want to miss out on the other two who are not that far behind.

Instead, I help as many people as I can, as quickly as I can, with their estate plans.  I have a full schedule, so I don’t need to add in different areas of law that would take away from my ability to help with estate planning.  I simply have enough to do and enough people to help that I don’t feel the need to expand my practice areas.  I think trying to expand would negatively impact my ability to help people with their estate plans, and I don’t want to take away from my ability to help those in need of estate planning.

 

I May Be Busy, but I Do Want to Help You

I know my schedule is full, but I still want to help more people.  As I complete estate plans for clients, those people are no longer on my schedule and I have room for new people.  Don’t let my busy schedule dissuade you from seeking my help.

I want to take what I have learned about estate planning and use it to help you!  

My estate plan is done, so it doesn’t really benefit me to re-do my own estate plan all the time.  I would rather help you get your estate planning done.  I can use my experience and enjoyment of estate planning to help you, which is a great thing for both of us!  If you think you may need my help setting up your estate plan, please click the link below to schedule a time to meet and get your estate plan started!