Estate Planning with Integity

Published on tahoe.com on Jan 3, 2020 – Written by Keith Rugg

No matter what industry, product or service you want to consider, there is always someone who is at the head of the pack. Someone who is different, someone who does things better.

In the realm of estate planning, one of those people is Elaine Andrews of The Andrews Law Firm

It’s not one single thing that gives Andrews this distinction, but rather a collection of characteristics and attributes that combine to create a practice and atmosphere to assist clients through one of the most complicated and confusing areas of law. In fact, estate planning is so unfamiliar to most people that Andrews wrote a book to help people understand the process and make the best decisions about their estates and assets.

Andrews notes that without proper planning, the result can be an unwanted conservatorship. “Most people think that they can do this preparation two minutes before they die,” she says, despite the fact that lack of effective estate planning can lead to having a probate court authorize someone else to be in control of your personal and financial decisions. Her book, Fifty Excuses (Not) to Do Bulletproof Estate Planning: Excuses That Just Might Cost You Everything, presents dozens of answers to questions about estate planning,

Another reason Andrews stands out from the crowd and why she is in a position to write such a definitive book is that she is a certified specialist estate planning attorney. This means that in addition to her initial legal training, she undertook a second bar exam in order to qualify as a specialist in this particular area of the law.

Consider also that she offers a free initial consultation, up to two hours, for those wanting to understand more about estate planning. For people who are accepted as clients, her work is performed on a flat-fee basis rather than by the hour, ensuring that there are no surprises when it comes to the total charges. As a notary, she performs notary work related to her clients’ estate planning at no additional cost.

To top it all off, Andrews offers in-home consultations. She understands that people in need of her assistance may not be in a position to travel to her office. This can be particularly true in some of the High Sierra communities that she serves, where narrow, winding mountain roads and adverse weather can be insurmountable obstacles to people who most need to be participating in estate planning. In addition to the Tahoe area, Andrews frequently sees clients in the San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento Valley, Sonoma County and various places along the I-80 Corridor.

As much as Andrews goes above and beyond what might be expected of someone in her position, she considers it all part of her day’s work. “It’s just so important to bring integrity to the role,” she says. Perhaps that kind of an attitude isn’t so surprising, coming from someone who spent some 25 years in the U.S. Army Reserve, seven of those years serving in the Judge Advocate General Corps, before retiring as a lieutenant colonel.

There’s always someone who stands out. In the field of estate planning, you don’t have to look too far to find that someone.