Benefits Of Adding Estate Planning To Your Law Practice
Edward Khidirov
October 12, 2023

Practicing law may make you wonder, "When will the meaningful work begin?" Whether you want to change career paths, are looking for more meaning in your law practice, feel burned out, or are trying to balance your work and life outside the office, switching to estate planning might be a good idea. 

This article will discuss the advantages of pursuing this fulfilling area of law and how to transition to this new career path. 

1. You Can Achieve a Better Work-Life Balance

While the workplace can be demanding, having an excellent balance outside the office is crucial to keep you happy and healthy and increase productivity. It's also one of the best ways to combat burnout in your law practice.

The pandemic brought the work-life balance into focus for several people. Reassessing how, where, and how much we work led to majoring and possibly permanent changes. Some people opted to work from home as a part-time or full-time job. It also made millions quit their jobs to retire or change career paths.  

Shifting to estate planning may help if you are dissatisfied with your current practice. Law practitioners transitioning from other law areas, such as litigation, family law, or criminal law, to estate planning, find this discipline rewarding. 

Like other areas of law, estate planning can sometimes be stressful, where urgent situations arise. However, estate planning allows practitioners more control over their schedules, providing a more collaborative, less scathing, and hostile experience. 

That way, you can get a more positive work-life balance, boosting your job satisfaction and improving your physical and mental health. 

2. Establish Significant Relationships With Clients

Estate planning goes deeper than drafting clients' wills and trusts. It also allows you to create long-lasting relationships with clients and help improve their quality of life. 

Understanding their family dynamics can guide you in assisting them in realizing their dreams while protecting resources for future generations. Besides advising and safeguarding their assets, you can also help carry out their final wishes and end-of-life healthcare decisions. Knowing your clients better can help them achieve their long-term goals and provide quality services to their children.

3. Easily Meet Clients Virtually 

Since the pandemic struck, people have grown more comfortable communicating in nontraditional ways, such as through virtual board meetings, a platform that gained popularity in 2020. Now, it looks like this practice will remain relevant. Many estate planners stated they would still meet their clients virtually, even after the pandemic. 

Virtually meeting and delivering quality services enables law practitioners in estate planning to gain flexibility for the attorney's residence and workstation and expand their market beyond those who can visit a traditional law office. 

While other clients and attorneys will always prefer in-person meetings and consultations, virtual meetings in estate planning ensure more efficiency and convenience. With a reliable trust and estate administration software, you can be sure that you'll be as productive as possible.

Of course, you must ensure that you can appreciate and evaluate clients' body language, regardless of your meeting format. Video conferences and in-person meetings work best in this regard. 

Video conferencing formats can also extend to better document accomplishments, making your work as an estate planner more convenient. Several firms allow clients to schedule an estate plan consultation from home via video conference platforms. They may also have mobile notaries that can travel to reach clients for signing on the attorney's behalf. 

4. Higher Demand for Estate Planning Services

Estate plans can ensure that your assets go to the correct beneficiaries, prevent family disputes, provide financial stability, and minimize taxes for heirs. Ultimately, you can sleep peacefully at night, knowing your loved ones' futures are safe and secure. 

The pandemic also brought an increased demand for estate planning services. While older generations create estate plans, younger adults stated that the pandemic pushed them to plan for their futures. Middle-aged and more senior generations also still make up a significant portion of potential estate planning clients. A recent poll reported that 67% of adults don't have an estate plan.

At the same time, budding entrepreneurs will need estate planning services, mainly as small businesses increase by ten percent from 2017 to 2021. Through proper succession planning, clients want to ensure that their companies can carry on and benefit future generations. 

Estate planners can also help business owners with business planning documents and buy-sell agreements to protect their life's work. 

Switching to Estate Planning

Your career is a significant life milestone, and making a career change can be daunting and risky. However, if you're unhappy with your career or ready to try something new, changing career paths can be an exciting and rewarding experience.

When transitioning to estate planning, remember that you can draw from your previous legal experience, which trained you to protect your clients and their interests. You may also have a built-in referral network of colleagues, such as accountants, appraisers, financial advisors, and other practitioners.

Here's how you can prepare for the shift:

1. Assess Your Current Client Base

You can begin this journey by reviewing your current client base for potential estate planning clients. Clients with large asset amounts, approaching retirement age, complex financial situations, and questions about what happens to their assets after death indicate that they need a conversation about estate planning. 

2. Create a Professional Network

Next, you must build a referral network of professional contacts from your current practice. It can ensure that your clients will receive the best professional care and advice. 

3. Maximize Social Media

Social media platforms can help clients discover your professional services. Ensure that you establish a strong presence on various platforms.

4. Establish a Reputation of Excellence

Lastly, you must also use social media to uphold a reputation of excellence for current and potential clients. After all, clients need reliable and experienced estate planners to make informed decisions.  

Get the Best Trust and Estate Administration Software for Your Practice

Transitioning to a new law area may be daunting yet exciting. And estate planning can help you gain a better work-life balance and further sharpen your knowledge and experiences in legal practices. 

Administration tasks can be resource-intensive and repetitive, but it doesn't have to be this way. Estateably provides trust and estate administration software to help you work more efficiently. Switch now and join the top estate professionals who trust Estateably today. 

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Adding Estate Planning to Your Legal Practice | Estateably

This article will discuss the advantages of pursuing this fulfilling area of law and how to transition to this new career path.

Practicing law may make you wonder, "When will the meaningful work begin?" Whether you want to change career paths, are looking for more meaning in your law practice, feel burned out, or are trying to balance your work and life outside the office, switching to estate planning might be a good idea. 

This article will discuss the advantages of pursuing this fulfilling area of law and how to transition to this new career path. 

1. You Can Achieve a Better Work-Life Balance

While the workplace can be demanding, having an excellent balance outside the office is crucial to keep you happy and healthy and increase productivity. It's also one of the best ways to combat burnout in your law practice.

The pandemic brought the work-life balance into focus for several people. Reassessing how, where, and how much we work led to majoring and possibly permanent changes. Some people opted to work from home as a part-time or full-time job. It also made millions quit their jobs to retire or change career paths.  

Shifting to estate planning may help if you are dissatisfied with your current practice. Law practitioners transitioning from other law areas, such as litigation, family law, or criminal law, to estate planning, find this discipline rewarding. 

Like other areas of law, estate planning can sometimes be stressful, where urgent situations arise. However, estate planning allows practitioners more control over their schedules, providing a more collaborative, less scathing, and hostile experience. 

That way, you can get a more positive work-life balance, boosting your job satisfaction and improving your physical and mental health. 

2. Establish Significant Relationships With Clients

Estate planning goes deeper than drafting clients' wills and trusts. It also allows you to create long-lasting relationships with clients and help improve their quality of life. 

Understanding their family dynamics can guide you in assisting them in realizing their dreams while protecting resources for future generations. Besides advising and safeguarding their assets, you can also help carry out their final wishes and end-of-life healthcare decisions. Knowing your clients better can help them achieve their long-term goals and provide quality services to their children.

3. Easily Meet Clients Virtually 

Since the pandemic struck, people have grown more comfortable communicating in nontraditional ways, such as through virtual board meetings, a platform that gained popularity in 2020. Now, it looks like this practice will remain relevant. Many estate planners stated they would still meet their clients virtually, even after the pandemic. 

Virtually meeting and delivering quality services enables law practitioners in estate planning to gain flexibility for the attorney's residence and workstation and expand their market beyond those who can visit a traditional law office. 

While other clients and attorneys will always prefer in-person meetings and consultations, virtual meetings in estate planning ensure more efficiency and convenience. With a reliable trust and estate administration software, you can be sure that you'll be as productive as possible.

Of course, you must ensure that you can appreciate and evaluate clients' body language, regardless of your meeting format. Video conferences and in-person meetings work best in this regard. 

Video conferencing formats can also extend to better document accomplishments, making your work as an estate planner more convenient. Several firms allow clients to schedule an estate plan consultation from home via video conference platforms. They may also have mobile notaries that can travel to reach clients for signing on the attorney's behalf. 

4. Higher Demand for Estate Planning Services

Estate plans can ensure that your assets go to the correct beneficiaries, prevent family disputes, provide financial stability, and minimize taxes for heirs. Ultimately, you can sleep peacefully at night, knowing your loved ones' futures are safe and secure. 

The pandemic also brought an increased demand for estate planning services. While older generations create estate plans, younger adults stated that the pandemic pushed them to plan for their futures. Middle-aged and more senior generations also still make up a significant portion of potential estate planning clients. A recent poll reported that 67% of adults don't have an estate plan.

At the same time, budding entrepreneurs will need estate planning services, mainly as small businesses increase by ten percent from 2017 to 2021. Through proper succession planning, clients want to ensure that their companies can carry on and benefit future generations. 

Estate planners can also help business owners with business planning documents and buy-sell agreements to protect their life's work. 

Switching to Estate Planning

Your career is a significant life milestone, and making a career change can be daunting and risky. However, if you're unhappy with your career or ready to try something new, changing career paths can be an exciting and rewarding experience.

When transitioning to estate planning, remember that you can draw from your previous legal experience, which trained you to protect your clients and their interests. You may also have a built-in referral network of colleagues, such as accountants, appraisers, financial advisors, and other practitioners.

Here's how you can prepare for the shift:

1. Assess Your Current Client Base

You can begin this journey by reviewing your current client base for potential estate planning clients. Clients with large asset amounts, approaching retirement age, complex financial situations, and questions about what happens to their assets after death indicate that they need a conversation about estate planning. 

2. Create a Professional Network

Next, you must build a referral network of professional contacts from your current practice. It can ensure that your clients will receive the best professional care and advice. 

3. Maximize Social Media

Social media platforms can help clients discover your professional services. Ensure that you establish a strong presence on various platforms.

4. Establish a Reputation of Excellence

Lastly, you must also use social media to uphold a reputation of excellence for current and potential clients. After all, clients need reliable and experienced estate planners to make informed decisions.  

Get the Best Trust and Estate Administration Software for Your Practice

Transitioning to a new law area may be daunting yet exciting. And estate planning can help you gain a better work-life balance and further sharpen your knowledge and experiences in legal practices. 

Administration tasks can be resource-intensive and repetitive, but it doesn't have to be this way. Estateably provides trust and estate administration software to help you work more efficiently. Switch now and join the top estate professionals who trust Estateably today. 

Edward Khidirov
Edward Khidirov is the Lead Legal Researcher at Estateably. He is currently a J.D./B.C.L. candidate at McGill University Faculty of Law. Edward holds a Joint Honors B.A. in History and Political Science from McGill University Faculty of Arts.
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