Free estate planning client intake form

Prefer a file?

The estate planning set is a Word file and a PDF. Both put the short web form on the first page and the call sheet after it, with the core questions switched on.

• Estate planning intake set (Word)
• Estate planning intake set (PDF)

Other practice areas are on the law firm intake form builder.

What should an estate planning intake form ask, and when?

Ask three different things at three different times. A website visitor will give you a name and a reason for writing. A first call can cover who the plan is for and who must be checked for conflicts. Money and family detail belong after the client signs.

1. Web formSeven fields: name, phone, email, what they need help with, a few lines in their own words, how they found you, and an optional OK to text them. The visitor fills it in, on your website, and it goes straight into your CRM.
2. First callWho the plan is for, both spouses' names, the people they may name, existing documents, what has changed, and anything time-sensitive. Your intake person fills it in on the phone, in the CRM matter and its notes.
3. After they hire youFamily details, accounts, property, and the choice of executor, trustee, agent and guardian, collected in person or through a secure portal. The client fills it in, with help, in your document system or secure portal, never open email.

One agency that sells intake services puts the website form at "typically 6–10 fields, not 30."^[1] Ours has seven. The call sheet has 26 core questions and 5 optional extras, and you can switch any of them off.

Who goes on the conflict check for an estate plan?

Everyone the plan touches goes on it, starting with both people in a couple. California's conflict rules apply to one lawyer acting for several people in one matter, and the rule's own examples include "joint or reciprocal wills for a husband and wife."^[3] That is why the call sheet asks for the spouse's name before anything else about the matter.

The rule describes the lawyer's position, so your counsel decides how your firm handles couples. The form only makes sure the names are on file before the first meeting.

What should stay off a website intake form?

Leave off Social Security numbers, account numbers and exact asset values. A visitor has not hired you yet, the first conversation does not need them, and a public form is a poor place to hold them.

California's rule on prospective clients points the same way for a different reason. The aim is to avoid learning things that could stop the firm acting for someone else. So a lawyer "must limit the initial interview to only such information as" reasonably appears necessary to decide whether to take the matter.^[2] The call sheet asks for a rough range of assets only as an optional extra, and never for account numbers.

Who is calling, and who is the client?

For estate planning it may be an adult child calling for a parent, or one spouse calling for both. So the call sheet asks who the plan is for before it asks what is in the estate. Five questions only fit this practice:

• Who is the plan for: you alone, you and a spouse or partner, or a parent or relative?
• If someone else, who are they and will they be at the first meeting?
• Which will, trust or power of attorney exists now, and what has changed since?
• In which other states, if any, do you own a home or land?
• Is anything time-sensitive, such as planned surgery, a new diagnosis or a closing date?

The last one decides the order of your calendar. A signing next week and a review next quarter are different jobs.

Which family, executor and power of attorney details does the first call need?

Only names, roles and what exists today. The first call needs to know who the children are, who may serve as executor, trustee, guardian or agent, and whether a power of attorney is already signed. It does not need addresses, dates of birth or the reasons for each choice.

• Children and grandchildren: first names and ages, and whether anyone is under 18 or has special needs.
• Executor, trustee, guardian and agent: the names they are thinking of, so the conflict check can run.
• Power of attorney and health care directive: whether one is signed now, the year and the state.

The drafting meeting covers the rest. Writing it down early only gives you more to protect.

What should a client bring before the drafting meeting?

Ask for the papers that decide what the plan has to do. Send this list once they have booked, not with the web form.

Where does each answer go in your CRM?

Each answer from the call sheet has its own place in the CRM:

Rishabh spent four years running intake, marketing and systems from inside law firms. Our first step with a new client is a call check: we call the firm, after hours too, and fill in its forms the way a new client would. Test it with a couple first.

We set up Clio Grow, Lawmatics, HubSpot, GoHighLevel and Salesforce, or fix the CRM your firm already owns. Our legal intake software guide compares the main tools, and the law firm CRM guide covers the choice. If you also want more of these inquiries, see marketing for estate planning firms.

Other practice areas have their own sets: immigration and family law.

How fast should you reply to an estate planning inquiry?

Reply in minutes, not days. In a study of 1,333 US law firms, a law firm marketing agency found that "Twenty-five percent of law firms respond to online leads in under 5 minutes."^[4] A fast call back helps your firm get the meeting. Our speed to lead guide shows the routine, written for personal injury but the same for any practice.

Who this form is not for

It is a starting point for the first conversation. It is not the full drafting questionnaire, and it will not replace the client data capture in estate planning software if your firm already uses it.

Questions firm owners ask