Document drafting is the backbone of estate planning, translating your clients’ wishes into legally sound instruments that ensure their intentions are carried out to the letter.
Whether you’re meticulously crafting each document by hand or leveraging the efficiency of automated software, the stakes are high—errors can lead to unintended consequences that may jeopardize an entire estate plan.
This blog post dives into the essential tips for estate planning attorneys, whether you’re a seasoned pro or a newcomer, to navigate the complexities of document drafting with confidence and precision.
Why Meticulous Document Drafting is Important in Estate Planning
In estate planning, precision isn’t just a matter of preference—it’s a necessity. The accuracy of document drafting directly impacts the effectiveness and legality of an estate plan.
For example, in the U.S., there’s a famous case known as the Oakhurst Dairy case (O’Connor v. Oakhurst Dairy, 2017), where the absence of an Oxford comma in a state law led to a $5 million settlement. While this case wasn’t about a will, it demonstrates how punctuation can indeed lead to significant legal challenges.
Such instances underscore how a minor typographical error can escalate into significant legal disputes, costing both time and resources.
Estate planning documents, from wills to trusts, serve as the cornerstone of a client’s final wishes. They are highly personalized, reflecting intricate details about a person’s assets, family dynamics, and specific desires for their estate. Clients expect not only precision but also a document that is free from errors. Errors in document preparation are a leading cause of legal malpractice claims, according to reports from the American Bar Association (ABA), underscoring the need for meticulousness in this critical aspect of legal practice.
Common Challenges in Document Drafting for Estate Planning
- Large Time Investment for Document Drafting Required
Document preparation in estate planning often demands a significant time investment. Crafting each document to reflect a client’s unique circumstances while adhering to complex legal requirements requires meticulous attention to detail. Document preparation is a time-intensive task for estate planning attorneys, often requiring more attention and detail than many other legal tasks. This considerable time investment is essential to ensure that each plan is tailored accurately, but it can be a challenge given the workload and the need for precision. - Typos and Misspellings
Estate planning documents must be flawless. Even a single typo or misspelling can lead to severe legal consequences, potentially causing disputes over the intended beneficiaries or other critical aspects of the plan. Attorneys must implement rigorous review and proofreading processes to catch and correct any errors before finalizing the documents. - Lack of Information
Incomplete or inaccurate information from clients can severely impact the drafting process. Estate plans need to be based on a thorough understanding of the client’s assets, family dynamics, and personal wishes. Many estate planning issues stem from insufficient or inaccurate client information. Attorneys must engage in comprehensive information gathering and verification to ensure all relevant details are included and accurately represented in the final documents.
Addressing these challenges effectively requires a combination of thorough review processes, careful information management, and a commitment to precision in document drafting. By understanding and mitigating these common issues, estate planning attorneys can enhance the quality and reliability of their services, ultimately safeguarding their clients’ intentions and reducing the risk of future disputes.
How These Challenges Impact the Overall Estate Planning Process
The challenges inherent in document drafting can significantly disrupt the estate planning process, leading to delays, client dissatisfaction, and potential legal issues. The substantial time required for meticulous drafting and revising can create bottlenecks in the process, especially if the attorney’s caseload is heavy. Clients, eager to finalize their plans, may grow frustrated with delays, potentially eroding their trust in the attorney’s ability to manage their affairs efficiently.
Moreover, the time-intensive nature of this work can limit an attorney’s capacity to take on additional clients or manage other cases effectively, leading to missed opportunities for business growth.
Best Practices and Tips for Drafting Estate Planning Documents
Start With an Initial Client Consultation
Key Information to Gather:
The foundation of accurate document drafting begins with a thorough initial client consultation. Attorneys should gather a comprehensive set of personal information, as well as a clear understanding of the client’s goals and wishes.
Essential details include the:
- Full names,
- addresses,
- phone numbers, and
- dates of birth for all persons named in the client’s plan.
Additionally, gathering complete income and asset information, including the type and amount, is crucial to drafting a plan that accurately reflects the client’s financial situation.
Understanding family dynamics and detailed goals for the distribution of assets upon death are also key to ensuring the plan aligns with the client’s true intentions.
Ensuring Full Understanding of Client’s Wishes and Goals:
To fully grasp a client’s wishes and goals, estate planning attorneys must adopt a structured and diligent approach. Attorneys should invest time in learning about the client’s family dynamics and educating them on the nuances of estate planning. This educational component helps clients understand the potential implications of their choices, leading to more informed decisions.
Using an effective intake form is another critical step. This form should be designed to capture all pertinent personal and financial information. However, it’s not enough to simply distribute the form; attorneys must also have a process in place to ensure it is completed accurately and promptly.
Standardization and Customization for Client Needs In Estate Planning Documents
Balancing Standardization with Customization: Estate planning attorneys face the delicate task of balancing the efficiency of standardized documents with the need for customization tailored to individual client needs. Standardized documents are essential for saving time, enabling attorneys to avoid the inefficiencies of starting from scratch with each client. However, every client’s estate plan is unique, requiring a level of customization that standardization alone cannot provide.
The use of document generation software is a practical solution to this challenge. These platforms offer standardized templates that can be easily customized with specific names, places, charities, and language unique to each client’s situation. This blend of standardization and customization allows attorneys to efficiently generate documents that meet their clients’ specific needs without compromising on quality or personalization.
Clauses and Provisions Requiring Customization: While many aspects of estate planning documents can be standardized, certain clauses and provisions must always be customized to reflect the client’s unique circumstances. The most obvious areas include the customization of names for the client and their family members, as these are central to the validity of the documents. Clients may also choose a unique trust name, which should be reflected in the documents.
Each estate plan operates under a unique Social Security Number or Employer Identification Number, and these identifiers must be correctly associated with the plan. Customization is also critical when naming individuals in key roles, such as the power of attorney agent, healthcare agent, executor, trustee, and beneficiaries. These roles are fundamental to the operation of the estate plan, and their customization is non-negotiable to ensure the plan aligns with the client’s intentions.
Technology and Tools
Enhancing Efficiency and Accuracy with STEPS™: Lawyers With Purpose has its own industry exclusive estate planning document templates, labeled “Strategic Trust and Estate Planning Software”.
Document drafting software like STEPS™ significantly enhances both the efficiency and accuracy of drafting estate planning documents. The key advantage of using such software is the reduction in manual data entry. Attorneys only need to input client information—such as names, dates of birth, and addresses—once. The software then automatically populates this information throughout the necessary documents. This feature not only saves time but also reduces the potential for human error, which can occur when re-entering data manually.
Beneficial Features of STEPS™:
Several features of STEPS™ are particularly valuable in reducing errors and improving consistency in estate planning documents:
- Single-Entry System: This feature allows the attorney to input client information only once, which is then automatically populated across all relevant documents. This reduces the risk of inconsistencies and errors that can occur with multiple entries.
- Warning Functionality: STEPS™ includes a warning system that alerts the drafter when an uncommon selection is made or when a choice might affect a critical part of the plan, such as asset protection. These warnings often come with citations and resources, allowing the attorney to research how a particular provision is handled in their jurisdiction.
- Defaults and Scenarios: The ability to set defaults for certain frequently used terms and clauses, as well as pre-define common scenarios, speeds up the drafting process. This feature reduces the number of selections that need to be made for each plan, further minimizing the potential for errors and ensuring consistency across documents.
- Integration with Actionstep: STEPS™ seamlessly integrates with Actionstep, a leading law firm practice management system. This integration ensures that all client information and document data are synchronized between the two systems, eliminating data entry redundancy and enhancing overall workflow efficiency. By connecting STEPS™ with Actionstep, attorneys can leverage a unified platform that streamlines both client management and document drafting processes.
Review and Verification for Estate Planning Documents
Top Tips for Reviewing and Verifying Drafted Documents: To ensure the accuracy of drafted documents, attorneys should take a systematic approach to reviewing and verifying each estate plan. Familiarity with the document content is crucial; attorneys should be able to explain each concept to the client in an understandable way. Verification of client information—such as the spelling of names, phone numbers, addresses, and dates of birth—is also essential to prevent any discrepancies.
A recommended practice is to confirm all details with the client before the signing day to avoid any surprises or last-minute changes. This ensures that the documents are not only accurate but also reflective of the client’s true intentions.
Ensuring Compliance with Legal Requirements and Client Instructions: To accurately reflect all legal requirements and client instructions in the documents, attorneys should use a design template. A design template is a comprehensive list of questions that guides the attorney during the plan design meeting, ensuring that no critical information is overlooked. This structured approach allows the attorney to collect all necessary details in one session, reducing the need for follow-ups.
By involving clients in the design stage, attorneys can empower them to have a voice in their plan, ask questions, and clarify their understanding. This collaborative process ensures that the final documents align with the client’s intentions and meet all legal requirements.
Staying Updated on New Legal Changes and Implementing Them into Document Drafting
Importance of Staying Updated with Legal Changes: Staying current with changes in laws and regulations affecting estate planning is crucial for estate planning attorneys to ensure that their clients’ plans remain valid and effective. The legal landscape surrounding estate planning is complex and ever-evolving, with changes in tax laws, financial regulations, and business laws potentially impacting the effectiveness of an estate plan.
Recommended Resources and Strategies for Staying Informed: To stay updated, estate planning attorneys should engage in ongoing continuing legal education (CLE) and professional development. Attending legal seminars and workshops offered by local and state bar associations is a valuable way to stay informed about the latest changes in the law.
Participating in a ListServ or group of like-minded attorneys can also be beneficial. These platforms allow attorneys to share ideas, discuss complex legal issues, and stay informed about changes in the law. Collaborating with peers and mentors who are committed to staying current ensures that attorneys are well-equipped to remain in the know and provide the best possible advice to their clients.
Ensuring Client Understanding and Approval
Effective communication is vital in estate planning. Attorneys must prioritize educating clients from the very beginning, allowing them to ask informed questions and make well-considered decisions.
Using plain language instead of legal jargon is recommended. Attorneys should walk clients through the drafted documents in a way that makes sense to them, ensuring clarity and reducing any potential confusion. Additionally, providing follow-up materials that outline what to do during significant life events, such as a medical crisis or death, can offer clients peace of mind and prepare them for traditionally stressful times.
Clarity is important
Attorneys should also clearly explain the pros and cons of different decisions, counseling clients toward choices that are both legally sound and aligned with their goals. This approach not only enhances understanding but also empowers clients to make decisions with confidence.
Handling Complex Estate Plans
Drafting complex estate plans requires a sophisticated approach, particularly when dealing with unique situations like non-traditional family structures, high-net-worth estates, or beneficiaries with specific needs. Attorneys must identify and address these complexities to craft effective plans that meet the clients’ objectives.
When working with clients who have non-traditional family dynamics, gathering comprehensive information is essential to fully understand their circumstances. This enables attorneys to propose tailored solutions that protect all beneficiaries’ interests, whether dealing with a financially irresponsible child, a special-needs beneficiary, or a high-risk professional. The plan should minimize risks while honoring the client’s wishes.
Complex estate planning often requires a deep understanding of related areas of law, such as tax or business law. When necessary, collaborating with specialists or seeking co-counsel ensures that the client’s plan is comprehensive and legally sound.
Reviewing and Updating Estate Planning Documents
Estate planning is an ongoing process that requires regular reviews and updates. Life changes—such as the birth of a child, significant changes in wealth, or the death of a beneficiary—may necessitate revisions to a client’s estate plan. Attorneys should encourage clients to schedule annual reviews or check-ins following major life events to ensure their documents remain current and reflective of their wishes.
During these reviews, attorneys should carefully examine each document, such as healthcare directives, powers of attorney, wills, and trusts, ensuring that all provisions and named parties still align with the client’s current intentions. If changes are needed, they can be implemented through new documents, codicils, or trust modifications, as appropriate.
Final Thoughts
For estate planning attorneys, meticulous document drafting is not just a task; it is the bedrock of a secure future for their clients. However, drafting can be time-consuming and complex. This is where STEPS™ becomes invaluable. LWP STEPS™ streamlines the entire document drafting process, reduces errors, and ensures consistency across all documents. By using our advanced software, attorneys can focus on delivering personalized, high-quality legal services to their clients, while significantly enhancing their efficiency and accuracy.
In today’s fast-changing legal environment, LWP STEPS™ is not just a fancy tool to talk to your peers about—it’s a necessity. The software’s customization options, helpful warnings, and efficiency improvements are exactly what the estate planning industry needs to stay coordinated and responsive to clients’ needs.
Onboarding LWP STEPS™ now will make the entire process smoother, more organized, and ultimately more successful for both attorneys and their clients.
