• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Sinclair Prosser Gasior

Annapolis Estate Planning Attorneys

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Call Now: (410) 573-4818

Attend a Free Workshop Trustee School

  • Home
  • About Our Firm
    • About Our Firm
    • Founding Attorneys
    • Meet Our Team
  • Services
    • Annapolis, MD Asset Protection and Business Planning
    • Estate and Gift Tax Figures
    • Annapolis, MD Elder Law & Medicaid Services
    • Annapolis, MD Trust Administration & Probate
    • Family-Owned Businesses & Farms
    • Annapolis, MD Incapacity Planning
    • Annapolis, MD LGBTQ Estate Planning
    • Annapolis, MD Pet Planning
    • SECURE Act
    • Annapolis, MD Special Needs Planning
    • Estate Planning for Young Families
  • Resources
    • DocuBank
    • Elder Law Reports
    • Estate Planning Definitions
    • Free Estate Planning Worksheet
    • Frequently Asked Questions
      • Asset Protection Planning
      • Estate Planning
      • Frequently Asked Questions for Families Without an Estate Plan
      • Legacy Wealth Planning
      • LGBTQ Estate Planning
      • Medicaid
      • Power of Attorney
      • Probate Avoidance
      • Trust Administration & Probate
      • Wills
    • Is Your Estate Plan Outdated?
    • Probate Resources
    • Reports
      • Advanced Estate Planning
      • Basic Estate Planning
      • Trust Administration
      • Estate Planning for Niches
    • Top 10 Estate Planning Techniques
    • Newsletters
  • COMMUNITIES WE SERVE
    • Anne Arundel County
      • Annapolis
      • Crownsville
      • Davidsonville
      • Highland Beach
      • Millersville
    • Baltimore County
    • Calvert County
      • Dunkirk
      • Huntingtown
      • Owings
    • Charles County
      • Charlotte Hall
      • Waldorf
    • District of Columbia
    • Howard County
    • Maryland
      • Clarksville
      • Columbia
      • Ellicott City
    • Prince George County
      • Bowie
      • Fort Washington
      • Glenn Dale
    • Queen Anne’s County
      • Grasonville
      • Queenstown
      • Stevensville
    • St. Mary’s County
      • Charlotte Hall
      • Leonardtown
  • Reviews
    • Our Reviews
    • Review Us
  • BLOG
  • Contact Us
  • Make A Payment
  • Client Portal
Home / Estate Planning / Client Control is Critical to an Effective Estate Plan

Client Control is Critical to an Effective Estate Plan

December 7, 2017 by Colleen Sinclair Prosser, Estate Planning Attorney

  “Client Control is Critical to an Effective Estate Plan” by Attorney Colleen Sinclair Prosser

This week, let’s talk about client control and why it is critical to design an estate plan that meet the goals of the client.

When a client meets with an attorney, they often have very specific ideas in mind. Some of these ideas may make sense in the real world while others may not. An attorney is not merely a scrivener. If that were the case, the client could go to internet sources to just get documents. An attorney should pull the client back from specifics and examine the client’s underlying goals behind the specifics.

This is true in the field of estate planning, as much or more than in other fields of law. In estate planning, often clients think they know enough to form an opinion. However, they may have overlooked key issues.

One client may come in and say they want their assets split and distributed outright to their three children at the death of the client. On the surface this seems straightforward. It certainly may be accomplished. However, if an attorney does not probe further, the attorney may not be providing optimal counsel.

Let’s say the three children are Mary, Betty, and Johnny. Mary is an anesthesiologist and single. Betty is a married school teacher. Johnny is single and has a progressive illness and will need extensive care in the future.

It would be well to discuss with the client the idea of a discretionary trust for Mary and the creditor protection it could provide with an independent trustee. Similarly, if the client considers a possible future divorce of Betty, they may consider a trust for her. Finally, if Johnny has a progressive illness, perhaps a special needs trust might be appropriate for him.

Another example is a client with a farm in the country currently worth about $1 million and a house in the city worth about the same $1 million. They have some other minor assets. The client has two children, a son and a daughter, both close to 20 years of age. The client wants to leave the house in the city to her daughter and the farm to her son as specific bequests. The unspoken desire is to leave a relatively equal value to each child. The client is age 55 and in good health. There are at least two issues here that the client may not have considered. First, the values of the properties may vary dramatically between now and the client’s death in two or three decades. The house in the city may be in a declining neighborhood and may be worth $250,000 or less at the client’s death. The farm might explode in value to $2.5 million or more due to development pressure. Would the client really want to leave only 1/10 as much to her daughter as to her son in that case? Also, the children may not want those specific properties. The son who now fishes on the farm may have moved away in college and live in New York City by the time the client dies. The daughter may have married and moved to Seattle. Perhaps a better alternative is to split the value of the assets between the two children. If desired, the daughter could be given the right to purchase the house in the city and the son could be given a right to purchase the farm.

Of course, the final decision is the client’s unless you believe strongly that it would be illegal or unethical to do so.

An estate planning attorney, is not merely a scrivener. The attorney’s job is to ferret out the true underlying goals of the client, such as asset protection, divorce protection and fairness.  Then, counsel the client in achieving those goals.

 

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Colleen Sinclair Prosser, Estate Planning Attorney
Colleen Sinclair Prosser offers years of experience in estate preservation and transfer. A strong proponent of the living trust, she also focuses on wills, powers of attorney, living wills, probate, trust administration, prenuptial agreements, nursing home planning, and special needs planning.
Latest posts by Colleen Sinclair Prosser, Estate Planning Attorney (see all)
  • 25 Years with WNAV - June 22, 2022
  • Capital Gains Taxes and Trust Assets - April 21, 2022
  • Estate Planning Mistakes - March 29, 2022

Filed Under: Estate Planning

Other Articles You May Find Useful

Annapolis probate attorney
How Social Media Posts Might Impact a Will Contest
Bowie estate planning attorneys
Can I Prevent Someone from Contesting My Will?
Estate Planning Mistakes
living trust
Three Things a Living Trust Won’t Accomplish
What is the Most Important Estate Planning Document?
Tax Law Changes for 2022

About Colleen Sinclair Prosser, Estate Planning Attorney

Colleen Sinclair Prosser offers years of experience in estate preservation and transfer. A strong proponent of the living trust, she also focuses on wills, powers of attorney, living wills, probate, trust administration, prenuptial agreements, nursing home planning, and special needs planning.

Primary Sidebar

Download our free estate planning worksheet

There's a lot that goes into setting up a comprehensive estate plan, but with our FREE worksheet, you'll be one step closer to getting yourself and your family on the path to a secure and happy future.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Testimonials

5 Stars
Client Review
September 3, 2020
    

We initiated estate planning following a presentation by Sinclair Prosser Attorney Jon Gasior. We were so impressed, we contracted with them to complete our estate planning. Subsequently, we assembled information on our assets and Sinclair Prosser Gasior did the rest. Correspondence was communicated to our financial institutions and the estate was established. We were very pleased with the courteous manner of the Sinclair Prosser Gasior staff. However, it was their professionalism that made us satisfied we chose this firm to handle our estate. We have nothing but praise for Sinclair Prosser Gasior .

default image
– Walter K.

Blog Subscription

Sign up for our blog to receive all of our latest estate planning news and updates!
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

ANNAPOLIS

900 Bestgate Road
Suite 103, Annapolis, Maryland 21401
Phone: (410) 573-4818
Fax: (410) 573-2802

BOWIE

4201 Mitchellville Road
Suite 403, Bowie, MD 20716
Phone: (301) 970-8080
Fax: (410) 573-2802

MILLERSVILLE

1520 Jabez Run Rd
Suite 300, Millersville, Maryland 21108
Phone: (410) 573-4818
Fax: (410) 573-2802

WALDORF

Hamilton Centre II
3261 Old Washington Road, Suite 2020 Waldorf, MD 20602
Phone: 800-366-4615

Map

map for office

Footer

footer logo
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

The information on this Maryland Attorneys & Lawyers / Law Firm website is for general information purposes only. Nothing on this or associated pages, documents, comments, answers, emails, or other communications should be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. This information on this website is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing of this information does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship.

© 2023 American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys| Privacy Policy | Contact Us | Disclaimer | Site Map