{"id":11533,"date":"2015-11-25T15:17:34","date_gmt":"2015-11-25T19:17:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/legalcounselnj.com\/?p=11533"},"modified":"2020-04-17T16:17:32","modified_gmt":"2020-04-17T20:17:32","slug":"making-will-role-attorney","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/legalcounselnj.com\/making-will-role-attorney\/","title":{"rendered":"Making Your Last Will: The Role of the Attorney"},"content":{"rendered":"

There is a Misunderstanding of the Role of the Attorney<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cAll I need is a Simple Will.\u201d\u00a0 This was said to me even before we sat down in my conference room.\u00a0 \u201cWhy then\u201d, I thought, \u201care you coming to me?\u201d\u00a0 \u201cIf all you want from me is a form, why ask me for a meeting?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"RobertShanahan_FS16_PhotoEmblem\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I’m Not a Bakery<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

I enjoy my job.\u00a0 I like to help clients plan their estates, put their wishes into effect, avoid unnecessary taxes and give them a sense of relief.\u00a0 When clients tell me, \u201cThat\u2019s a load off my mind\u201d, or \u201cI\u2019ve been intending to do this for a long time and I am glad it\u2019s done\u201d, I feel good.\u00a0 But, to cut me off at the knees before I get a chance to review the situation and give legal advice, by telling me all they want is a form, it\u2019s just not why I became a professional.\u00a0 I am not a bakery.<\/p>\n

Old School Lawyering: The Counselor At Law<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Many, many years ago, there were two types of admission to the Bar.\u00a0 One was, \u201cCounselor At Law\u201d; the other was \u201cAttorney At Law\u201d.\u00a0 A Counselor at Law gave legal counsel to clients, and did not necessarily go to court. The Counselor at Law was prized for his advice.\u00a0 He would keep his clients out of trouble by researching the law and shepherding them through the legal minefield.\u00a0 Today, we make no distinction between Counselor and Attorney at Law, but the duty of giving professional legal counsel, remains. This ability to help people in this way is why many attorneys have pursued their careers, including me.<\/p>\n

Can We Talk?<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

In estate planning, it\u2019s not important that you have a Will, it\u2019s that you have the right Will.\u00a0 In answering your questions, it is not that you get a quick answer (by email or otherwise), it\u2019s that you get the right answer.\u00a0 Facts, circumstances, assets (even if you only have a few), hopes and dreams, all must be reviewed.\u00a0 The question of Executors, Trustees, guardians for children, has to be discussed, not only the \u201cwho\u201d, but the implications to the person you choose and their role in handling your affairs after you are gone.\u00a0 Increasingly, in our present time, there is also the danger of probate litigation involving siblings.<\/p>\n

You Don’t Know, What You Don’t Know<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

In addition, an experienced Counselor at Law will be able to advise as to pitfalls and the practicality of your plan.\u00a0 You may want several trusts, or your friend told you to create a \u201cLiving Trust\u201d instead of a Will.\u00a0 These things can be done, but do you want to live that way?\u00a0 Are you, or the person you chose as Trustee, willing to handle the work that these trusts sometimes require?\u00a0 Did you know that leaving a percentage of your estate to a charity will involve a review of your estate by the New Jersey Attorney General\u2019s Office?\u00a0 This will delay the distribution of your estate for months. Maybe leave a specific amount of money to the charity and avoid this delay.<\/p>\n

The role of an attorney is to listen to the client\u2019s needs and provide counsel, based upon the law, in order to assist the client to reach his or her goals.\u00a0 Alone, a form cannot succeed.<\/p>\n

\n

Robert J. Shanahan, Jr. Esq. focuses his practice in estate planning, elder law and probate matters. Mr. Shanahan additionally practices in business law and non-profit matters. He is a trained, experienced mediator and offers dispute resolution services, particularly for those arising from probate and elder law matters. Additionally, Mr. Shanahan\u2019s firm, Law Offices of Robert J. Shanahan, Jr., LLC, offers a breadth of additional services to families and businesses throughout central New Jersey.<\/p>\n

Mr. Shanahan received his Juris Doctor from the Temple University School of Law in 1985, and obtained licensure in New Jersey in the same year. \u00a0He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in History in 1981 from William Paterson University, with honors. Robert is a member and Past President of the Hunterdon County Bar Association, and is a member of the New Jersey State Bar Association, and its Elder Law and Disability Section.\u00a0 He is also active in the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. Robert is a member of the Hunterdon Medical Center\u2019s Bio Ethics Committee and was awarded a Five Star Financial Services Professional Award for 2016.<\/p>\n

You may contact Bob at (908) 751-1551, or robert@legalcounselnj.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There is a Misunderstanding of the Role of the Attorney \u201cAll I need is a Simple Will.\u201d\u00a0 This was said to me even before we sat down in my conference room.\u00a0 \u201cWhy then\u201d, I thought, \u201care you coming to me?\u201d\u00a0 \u201cIf all you want from […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[228,3007],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/legalcounselnj.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11533"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/legalcounselnj.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/legalcounselnj.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legalcounselnj.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legalcounselnj.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11533"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/legalcounselnj.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11533\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/legalcounselnj.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legalcounselnj.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11533"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legalcounselnj.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}