Estate planning intake questionnaire
For education only. Not legal advice. Tellbrief is not a law firm.
A good estate planning questionnaire gets you three lists before the meeting: the family, what they own and the papers that already exist.
In short
Three lists can cover most of it: who’s in the family, what they own in rough terms, and what papers they already have. If a couple is planning together, both names, and an early word on what sharing a lawyer means. Account numbers and health questions can wait for the meeting.
On this page
Who’s coming
One opening question: is the client planning alone or with a spouse or partner? Both names can go on the form. If you’d represent both, it can help to explain before the meeting what that means: what you can keep between you and one of them, and what happens if they disagree. The joint representation letter is written for co-founders, but it shows how to set out the same questions in writing.
The names go through your conflict check like any matter’s. You might add anyone with a reason to object later, like a child from an earlier marriage. How to run a conflict check covers the search.
The family
Who they’d want to provide for, and who depends on them now:
- Married, partnered, divorced or single, and any earlier marriages.
- Children and grandchildren, including stepchildren, and their ages. Whether any are from an earlier relationship.
- Anyone under 18, and whether the client has thought about a guardian.
- Anyone who’d inherit and receives government benefits, like Medicaid or SSI.
- The people they’d trust to handle things: an executor, a trustee, someone to make decisions if they can’t.
What they own, roughly
Ranges and yes-or-no answers are enough before the meeting: a home, and any property in another state; retirement accounts; life insurance; a business or a share of one; a rough total, in bands. No account numbers, and no statements yet.
The papers that already exist
A form can ask what they have and when it was signed: a will, a trust, a power of attorney, a health care directive, beneficiary designations on accounts and policies, a prenuptial agreement. A list is enough. If they want to bring copies to the meeting, the email can say how; the document request list shows one way to set out what to send.
Why now
A last question can ask what prompted the call: a new baby, a marriage, an illness in the family, a sale, a move, or simply getting around to it. And the one thing they most want settled, which is a natural place to start the meeting.
Health questions can wait
Medical history may not be needed to know what kind of plan to discuss, and questions about health or capacity can be easier to ask in the room, where you can explain why you’re asking.
An email to send with it
Subject: Before we meet on [date]
Hi [name],
Before our meeting, please fill in this short questionnaire: [link]. It takes about [15] minutes and asks about your family, what you own in rough terms and any planning documents you already have.
Please don’t include account numbers or medical details. If you have a will, trust or power of attorney, a list is enough for now; you can bring copies to the meeting.
[If two people are planning together:] We’ll talk at the start of the meeting about what it means for one lawyer to represent you both.
[Lawyer], [firm]
Want the reminder that goes out after booking too? The consultation confirmation email has wording for it.
Tellbrief’s estate planning questions take about 20 to 25 answers, most of them one tap, with none about health. The brief lists the family, what they own in rough terms and the papers they already have, with the issues to raise. Start a free pilot; your first three briefs are free.
See it first: the demo dashboard · a demo brief · the estate planning questions your client answers
Other practices: the family law intake form template and the personal injury intake checklist.
Questions about estate planning intake
How long should an estate planning questionnaire be?
Long enough to fill in the three lists: family, property and existing papers. Anything you won’t read before the meeting can wait.
Do we need account numbers before the meeting?
Ranges and the kind of account can be enough to plan a first meeting.
Should both spouses fill it in?
One form for the couple works if both names are on it and both have seen the answers. Joint representation is worth raising before the meeting.
Why not ask about health on the form?
It may not be needed to plan a first meeting, and it can be easier to ask in person, where you can explain why.
Try it before your next three planning meetings
Each brief lists the family, what they own in rough terms and the papers they already have, with the issues to raise. You see the names before anything else. Your first three briefs are free, and setup is one 15-minute call.