2 Web Tools to Look Up the Best Estate-Planning Attorneys

There's a tool on the website for the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, a nonprofit organization, that allows you to search for highly qualified estate-planning attorneys in your area. The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel was formerly known as The American College of Probate Counsel. It is "a nonprofit association of lawyers and law professors skilled and experienced in the preparation of wills and trusts; estate planning; and probate procedure and administration of trusts and estates of decedents, minors and incompetents." Members practice throughout the United States, Canada and other foreign countries. In order to qualify, members must have at least 10 years' experience in the active practice of probate and trust law or estate planning. Lawyers and law professors are elected to be Fellows of the ACTEC "based on their outstanding reputation, exceptional skill, and substantial contributions to the field by lecturing, writing, teaching and participating in bar activities."

If you're planning for someone with an incapacity, like a child with special needs or a loved one with dementia, it's a good idea to hire an estate-planning attorney with expertise in special-needs or elder law. The National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys provides referrals to lawyers who specialize in these areas. Locate an Special Needs or Elder Law attorney with NAELA’s online tool "Find an Attorney".