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Key Facts
- State model-law context: The Uniform Probate Code is a model act, so its provisions operate in a state only through that state’s enactment.
- State level: An estate lawyer may work on planning before death, administration after death, or both, depending on the lawyer’s practice and engagement.
- General professional context: The ABA’s competence factors include a matter’s complexity and specialized nature, the lawyer’s experience and training, preparation, and possible consultation with experienced counsel.
- Federal and state: Estate administration can involve state probate law and separate federal tax responsibilities.
An estate lawyer may focus on estate planning, trust administration, estate administration, or a combination of those areas.
Estate planning and estate administration are different stages
Planning work occurs during life. An estate planning attorney may create legal documents, including wills, and strategies to manage assets and plan inheritances. ACTEC uses those functions to describe the practice.
Administration work begins after a death and may involve advising on trust and estate administration. Hiring a lawyer does not transfer every federal tax duty of the personal representative to counsel.
There is no single nationwide probate rulebook
The Uniform Probate Code is a model act published by the Uniform Law Commission. A model act is not binding merely because the Commission approved it. A state must enact legislation for the provisions to operate there, and an enacted version may contain local changes.
This boundary matters in a national overview. States may choose whether and how to enact a model probate code, so enacted rules can contain local differences. A general article can explain recurring concepts, but the operative answer comes from the governing jurisdiction’s current law.
Federal tax work is a separate layer
IRS Publication 559 addresses federal tax responsibilities for survivors, executors, and administrators. It describes a personal representative as an executor, administrator, or anyone in charge of the decedent’s property. The publication discusses federal income, estate, and gift tax returns and the responsibility to pay taxes due on behalf of the decedent or estate.
Those federal responsibilities do not replace state probate law. Publication 559 expressly notes that the federal tax period of administration may be longer or shorter than the period provided by local law.
Relevant experience depends on the work involved
ACTEC recommends looking at the kind of practice the lawyer conducts and interviewing prospective counsel. Because estate lawyers may focus on planning, trust administration, estate administration, or a combination, relevant experience can differ by engagement.
The ABA comment to Model Rule 1.1 identifies the complexity and specialized nature of a matter, the lawyer’s general experience, field-specific training and experience, preparation, and possible consultation with experienced counsel as competence factors. The ABA Model Rules are models, however, not a substitute for the professional-conduct rules adopted in the lawyer’s jurisdiction.
Communication and fees define the working relationship
ABA Model Rule 1.4 calls for reasonable consultation about how client objectives will be pursued, reasonable updates about the matter, prompt responses to reasonable information requests, and enough explanation for informed decisions. State versions control actual professional obligations and may differ from the model.
The comment to ABA Model Rule 1.5 says fees and charged expenses must be reasonable under the model and that an understanding about fees and expenses must be established promptly in a new lawyer-client relationship.
Sources
- ACTEC: How to choose an estate planning attorney
- American Bar Association: About the Model Rules of Professional Conduct
- ABA Model Rule 1.1 competence comment
- ABA Model Rule 1.4 communications
- ABA Model Rule 1.5 fees comment
- Uniform Law Commission: Uniform Probate Code
- IRS Publication 559: Survivors, Executors, and Administrators
