Estate planning is one of my primary areas of practice. I also provide legal services for small and medium businesses. Such services include formation of corporations and limited liability companies, preparation of contracts, including shareholders' agreements, contracts for the purchase and sale of businesses, employment contracts, contracts for the purchase and sale of real property, and lease agreements. I chose estate planning as a primary area of practice because I enjoy working with people and helping them. Estate planning gives me an opportunity to get to know a client on a more personal level, and allows me to help the client in a very important matter. I find putting together the pieces of an estate plan interesting and enjoyable.

I encourage clients to educate themselves on legal issues. One of my goals in serving clients is to inform and educate them regarding their particular legal issue. I want the client to understand the provisions of his or her will or trust. I believe that part of my service is to educate the client, so I encourage questions.

Generally, I am not willing to review documents prepared by clients. In connection with estate planning, I do ask clients to prepare informational worksheets, which I review with them. Reviewing a document without actually planning the estate often would be of little value to the client, and for that reason, I generally do not review documents prepared by a prospective client.

Planning an estate is more complicated than one might imagine. I generally would be unwilling to coach a client who wishes to do his or her own estate planning, but for some matters, I might be willing to consult if appropriate.