Selecting an estate attorney for a billionaire family
Built on Chapter 7 of The Single Family Office by Richard C. Wilson. Full chapter text: FamilyOffices.com.
Choose the estate attorney around the family's actual ownership and decision problems. A billionaire family's work may involve trusts, operating companies, and relatives living in different places. The attorney should explain which parts of that work the firm handles directly and where another qualified specialist must be involved.
Chapter 7 places legal assistance among the services that protect family wealth. For an estate engagement, I would start with the responsibility being assigned. Preparing documents, assessing an existing structure, and supporting ongoing administration are different jobs. Ask the prospective attorney to describe the output for each.
Bring a useful picture of the family
Prepare the current family tree and an ownership summary before the selection meeting. Include the location of important assets and the family members the planning is intended to serve. Give sensitive information through an appropriate process agreed with the firm.
Explain which decisions remain unresolved. A dispute about who should participate in a family business is relevant to the engagement even if no document has yet been written. Counsel needs to know whether the family is asking for a technical assessment or help documenting an instruction the owners have already agreed.
Richard's limit on using tools
In my recorded teaching, I tell people to check with a real attorney and accountant. I explain that AI tools can help people become more decisive but do not replace their professional service providers. That is a useful distinction when selecting estate counsel.
I would use preparation tools to organize the questions, then ask the attorney to assess the family's facts. The office should know which named professional takes responsibility for that assessment. A polished explanation generated from a document package is not a substitute for counsel understanding the actual ownership and intended actions.
Ask who the firm represents
Have the attorney identify the client and explain how conflicts are assessed. The family, a trust, and an operating company may have interests that differ. Do not assume the lawyer advising one of them can give every person the same representation.
Ask how a conflict would be handled if circumstances changed. The purpose is to understand the engagement before a sensitive disagreement arises. Let counsel explain the applicable duties and any need for separate advice. Keep the agreed scope where the office lead can consult it when a new question arrives.
Examine the working team
Meet the professional who will handle ordinary questions. The partner in the introductory meeting may oversee the work while someone else performs most of it. Ask who checks documents and who is available if the primary contact leaves or is away.
Discuss the information the firm needs from accountants and trustees. A technically sound plan can remain unimplemented if the ownership records are never updated. Ask the firm to describe how it records unfinished implementation work and how the family learns that an action still requires attention.
Separate planning from follow-through
A signed document may create work for other people. The office should receive a clear list of actions to be assessed and completed by the appropriate parties. Ask counsel which steps the firm performs and which the family must assign elsewhere.
Have the coordinator track those assignments without offering their own legal conclusions. If the custodian or accountant raises a question about an instruction, bring it back to counsel. Avoid letting staff improvise a solution merely to make the completion list look shorter.
Make the fees understandable
Ask for the basis of billing and what is included in the proposed scope. Discuss the treatment of meetings, revisions, and coordination with other advisors. If the work expands, establish how the family will learn about the change before the bill arrives.
A lower initial estimate may cover less implementation work. Compare the actual responsibilities and the people performing them. The family needs to understand what it is buying and who owns the work that remains outside the engagement.
End selection with an assignment
Before engaging the firm, agree on the first deliverable and the records required to prepare it. Name the office contact who will provide those records. Set a way to escalate an urgent issue when the ordinary contact is unavailable.
Then confirm that the proposed engagement reflects the conversation. The office should be able to point to a specific professional for an open question and a specific record showing what the firm has agreed to do.
What to take from this
- Select for the family facts and assigned scope.
- Ask counsel to clarify representation and conflicts.
- Track implementation work beyond signed documents.
This page is general information, not legal advice. Family governance documents and dispute processes should be reviewed by a qualified attorney.
Questions and answers
Should every family member use the same estate attorney? Have qualified counsel assess representation and potential conflicts for the actual parties.
What should the engagement make clear? The client, responsible professionals, scope, billing, and allocation of implementation work.