The practice of Estate Planning is all about "planning". Each estate plan needs documents to implement the plan.
And for that reason, estate planners spend a lot (and I mean a lot) of time drafting documents. Some of those hours spent drafting
(in truth a lot of those hours) is written off at the cost of tens of thousands of dollars of foregone revenue each year per attorney.
This is not to say that the remaining drafting is not "profitable". But, time spent by attorneys on drafting that cannot be fully recovered
from your clients is REAL MONEY.
Automated Document Production vs. Hand-Crafting
Lawyers often view themselves as "artists" or "research scientists". Like artists, they nurse their creative side, constantly looking for newer, more creative and more elegant ways to draft documents. Like scientists, they also search to find the ultimate legal instrument that gives their client the "best result". Each time a document is drafted is a fresh opportunity to re-evaluate the language drafting options. This variance from one document to another is explained either as a "creative process" or an "evolutionary process".
In theory, hand-crafting results in better documents. Under this theory, the clients get the "full attention" of the lawyer to their needs, bringing to bear over a decade of legal experience and education to get the client the best result. The client is paying for the lawyer to pour over every word of his estate plan and craft it to suit his exact requirements.
At best, hand-crafting is a myth. Lawyers pull up the last will they did (or some form document), mark it up with client details and hand it to a secretary or estate planning paralegal. At worst, hand-crafting results in faulty documents that contain information from the last client's estate, since the estate plan was created by marking up the last client's set of documents.
Automated document production, also known as document assembly looks at the reality of estate planning documents. These documents are not "works of art or science". Rather, they are documents designed to give explicit instructions to Trustees and Personal Representatives on how to dispose of or manage estate funds. The clearer, more explicit, simpler, more transparent, and more consistent the instructions are, the more likely these instructions will be carried out. With respect to "tax avoidance" it is not the creativity that is rewarded, but rather the clear understanding of what fund allocations will and will not be taxable on death (or during the life of the grantor).
As such, Estate Planning documents are ripe for automation. There are recognizable patterns, special language for special circumstances, common provisions that must be in all documents, and special language construction rules. Moreover, everyone needs an estate plan, but only a limited number of people choose to expend $10,000 or more to get a proper plan created. As such there is real pressure on the amount of time you as a lawyer can spend on drafting. With document assembly, you can spend more time with the clients building the client relationship and architecting the plan, and less time in the back office on drafting, proofing and reviewing.
Buy, Build or Status Quo
You know the Status Quo. If life is good, you are working plenty and making sufficient money, stick with it. But if you want to grow your practice, if you are being pressured to increase your volume of work, or if you are getting pressure from your clients (and prospects) to deliver your work more cost-effectively, the question will be whether to buy or build.
If you "build" your own house, it will be exactly what you want (subject to the amount you are willing to spend). But you will likely spend a lot of time sweating the details and sweating much of the labor. You also may end up paying more for the parts and for the contractors to do the labor.
If you "buy" your own house, it will be ready to move in. Much will be good: solid roofing, plumbing, electricity etc. But there will be compromises at the margins. Some aspects of the house will be easily modifiable. Other aspects, more fundamental to structure of the house, may not be subject to change.
In deciding whether to buy or build a document assembly system for your estate planning practice, the same considerations are evident. Generally, because a lawyer's time is his most valuable commodity, purchasing a set of will and trust templates will be the most cost effective solution. Simply put, you will produce consistent, high quality documents that "get the job done":
- The documents will clearly describe the instructions of the testator/testatrix or grantor
- The documents will allocate funds in a way that minimizes the tax burden on the grantor and/or beneficiaries as the case may be.
- The documents will be free of any data that might relate to "other clients" that would come from marking up another client's documents.
- The documents will also "look good" because the template developer has worked out all the formatting and layout issues to produce a "ready to use" form.
- The documents will represent the "third draft" or maybe even the "final form" of the instrument.
A well-designed document assembly system can produce "hand-crafted documents," because the software works the same way an effective attorney does:
- Identify the issues and select the appropriate language
- Identify the parties, and allocate tangible and intangible property, funds, and real estate according to the parties' wishes.
- Identify any preconditions to disbursement of funds and specify the terms and timing of releases of principal and interest.
This "hand-crafting" which happens whether lawyers use "forms" or markup the last client set of documents, is where document assembly systems excel. They bring order, structure and consistency to the hand crafting.
Basha Systems Can Help
Whether you choose to buy or build, Basha Systems can help. Several of the leading estate planning forms systems were either built or reengineered by Basha Systems. As such, we know them inside and out.
- Basha Systems developed the core Wealth Transfer Planning ("WTP") system and has recently launched a Time Matters feature package and linking tool that lets you enter contact data in Time Matters and import that data into your WTP client interview. Click here for more information on that system.
- Basha Systems worked with GhostFill and West Publishing to develop Drafting Wills and Trusts Agreements (DWTA System).
- For several years, we worked with the WealthCounsel forms, and built a linking feature package which enabled user to manage their estate plans in Time Matters, and then launch WealthCounsel and bring in that data.
We recommend first that you review one of those systems. If you find the "house to your liking" but need to do some further interior alterations, contact us. We have provided customization support for WTP, WealthDocs and DWTA.
If you still want to build it yourself, look at these systems for ideas on what you want in your system. Then contact us. We have assisted numerous law firms, large and small in building their own estate planning form sets.
