When I first started Stuart Green Law, I had a conversation with a financial advisor who asked me a very foundational and important question: “What separates your legal practice from every other estate planning attorney out there?” It’s such a basic question, but one that many attorneys—and even clients—don’t often consider. Why choose one attorney over another?
When I launched Stuart Green Law, I had a few core ideas in mind, but the main goal was to redefine estate planning. If you look at our website or our materials, you’ll see the tagline “Estate Planning Redefined.” But what does that mean?
Our practice is built on two main aspects that set us apart:
1. Technical Focus:
- We specialize in asset protection and tax planning. You won’t find many tax attorneys who focus on estate planning, and even fewer who also emphasize asset protection. Many estate planning attorneys out there might focus on asset protection in terms of Medicaid eligibility. But we go beyond that—we focus on protecting against creditors, lawsuits, malpractice suits, negligence suits, bankruptcy, divorce claims, and more.
- Our deep technical expertise allows us to provide sophisticated strategies that aren’t common in typical estate planning practices.
2. Estate Concierge Approach:
- I wanted to create a client-centric approach to legal services, and that’s what we call our Estate Concierge service. It’s our comprehensive, personalized approach to estate planning, built on five pillars: Assess, Identify, Educate, Implement, and Partner.
Estate Concierge Explained:
- Assess:
- We begin by thoroughly assessing the client’s financial situation, business interests, family dynamics, and most importantly, their intentions and goals. We can’t craft an effective plan without first understanding all these elements.
- Identify:
- We identify and quantify any risks, such as legal exposure, potential family conflicts, and tax liabilities. This includes looking at federal and state income and estate tax issues.
- Educate:
- Estate planning is complex and technical. We spend a lot of time educating our clients so they understand why we’re doing what we’re doing, what it accomplishes, and why it’s necessary to follow a specific strategy rather than taking a different route.
- Implement:
- Implementation is crucial. Many attorneys will create an estate plan and then hand it off, leaving clients to figure out the rest on their own. We don’t do that. We work with CPAs, financial advisors, insurance agents, and anyone else needed to pull everything together. This ensures the plan is structured correctly and effectively, with assets retitled and new accounts set up if needed, and trustees fully understanding their roles.
- Partner:
- Estate planning isn’t a one-time event; it’s an ongoing process. We maintain a partnership with our clients and their other advisors, ensuring the plan evolves as life changes. This ongoing relationship is essential because estate planning needs to adapt over time to remain effective.
In summary, what differentiates us at Stuart Green Law is our combination of a strong technical focus on tax and asset planning, and our unique approach to client service with our Estate Concierge model. This ensures that we not only create sophisticated and effective estate plans but also provide the ongoing support and partnership our clients need throughout their lives.