When you are suffering from a cold or flu, you make an appointment with your family doctor or internist. If you need to have heart bypass surgery, would you ask your family doctor to perform the surgery? Or would you make an appointment with a cardiologist who specializes in such procedures?
The same should be true for legal matters. The law has become much more complicated, requiring attorneys to limit their practices to one or more areas. Gone are the days when you could go to the same lawyer on Main Street to have a Will drafted, for a real estate contract, for a matrimonial issue and for an estate administration.
If you consult with an attorney for estate and Medicaid planning whose practice is not limited to these areas, my advice to you is to leave the office immediately. You must be a smart consumer of legal services. The areas of estate planning and elder law have become highly specialized and the laws are constantly changing. Lawyers must continually educate themselves and stay abreast of all of the changes. Gone are the days when lawyers could dabble in these areas. However, with the downturn in the economy and the wave of legal layoffs, some attorneys have switched their areas of practice and some have the misconception that any lawyer can draft a Will. While that may be partially true, does that lawyer know all of the available options and ramifications of improper planning?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment