Estate Planning Resources for Financial Professionals

The Estate Planning Team at The Galligan Law Firm • Houston, Texas

At The Galligan Law Firm, we work closely with other professional advisors, including Certified Financial Planner™ Practitioners, investment advisors, financial consultants, insurance professionals, Certified Public Accountants, and tax advisors as part of the estate planning team. We believe the team approach provides our mutual clients with the most comprehensive, realistic and effective estate plan.

Our Approach

Our approach is to provide a potential client contacting our office with a questionnaire and a welcome kit. We ask our clients to fill out this questionnaire and send it to us prior to the first consultation. This not only facilitates a more productive first meeting, but helps our clients focus on the issues and decisions they must make in order to develop the most effective plan to meet their goals. At the initial consultation we provide the client with our general recommendations and quote a fee for the cost of the plan, along with an engagement letter describing the services and related fees. During the design phase of the estate plan, there is ongoing communication with the client, which may involve obtaining additional documentation, clarifying goals and information, and discussing options and tradeoffs. We firmly believe that ongoing communication is an essential element of developing an effective plan, and building a life-long relationship with our clients. Before a client signs an estate planning document we devote time to explain the document, how it fits into their overall plan, and to answer any questions that may come up in the process. We also keep our clients informed on a regular basis through our seminar programs and newsletters. Using these regular touch points we alert clients about changes in the law that might affect them, and remind them to monitor their plans with regard to major life events.

Your Approach

Every professional organization has different processes, and different methods for interacting with clients. We are happy to work within your processes, or blend our respective methodologies. Our primary goal is to serve the needs of clients and we welcome the opportunity to serve them within the team environment.

Resources

Joint Marketing

• Client Education
  Please visit our Blog for an online library of articles on issues related to estate planning. We have posted a number of articles suitable for use as client education.
• Joint Marketing
  We are happy to work with you to speak to your clients or prospects on estate planning issues or probate issues, including basic estate planning, elder law, living trusts, the duties of an executor and a trustee, what is probate, how to complete a beneficiary designations, business succession, or asset protection. Please call the office if you would like to plan a workshop or a “Client Appreciation Event.”
• Monthly Estate Planning E-Newsletter
  Each month we produce an electronic newsletter, on estate planning, probate, and elder law issues. You may subscribe online and we will add you to our monthly e-mail list.