Today we’d like to introduce you to Casey Schwartz.
Hi Casey, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’m originally from Maryland and went to law school because I thought I wanted to be a prosecutor. However, during my third year, I had to take an estate planning class while I was pregnant. One of my professor’s assignments was to create my own Will. I had a unique perspective at that time because I was not only planning for myself, and my spouse, but also for our unborn daughter. I fell in love with the process of counseling families around protecting what is most important to them and wanted to help others plan for their life and death to ease the impact on their own loved ones.
Immediately after graduation I was hired by a local estate planning law firm. They used what I would describe as the “transactional model” of planning. This was the traditional legal experience for most people. Clients were billed every six minutes. They were lucky if they met the principal attorney even once. And all the documents were “one-size-fits-all” legal templates.
As the junior associate at that firm, I had to work with the client’s heirs. The generic template documents aren’t equipped to handle unique family dynamics, so plans failed when needed most. Sadly, I witnessed family conflict, heavy taxation and assets that were lost. Most of the time I had to advise the client’s family to go to court to resolve their differences and claim their inheritance.
I hated that. It meant more billable hours for their firm.
When I started my own practice six years ago, I vowed to do things much differently.
At Schwartz Legacy Planning, we practice the “relational model” of estate planning. Our goals are very different than the old firm where I used to work. I want to help our clients avoid court and conflict by working with them to create a legacy of love, care and ease.
Instead of just focusing on billable hours and one-size-fits-all documents, we spend a lot of time getting to know our clients, their family and their goals to create a comprehensive, customized estate plan.
We also know that the law will change and so will a client’s life circumstances. That’s why we never charge for communications (emails, phone calls and text messages) and use a flat fee schedule. It’s important to us to maintain a long-term relationship so we can help keep the client’s estate plan in line with those inevitable changes.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Anyone who owns a business knows the road is never smooth. We continue to face the typical operational bumps in the road as a growing law firm.
However, in the beginning, the fact we had to learn over and over again was that our practice and relational model isn’t for everyone.
Clients who value a long-term relationship with our firm and need customized estate planning are typically a good fit to work with us.
Those that are looking for a quick, cheap set of documents or folks looking to “do-it-yourself” (DIY) with an online website are not a good fit for our firm.
As you know, we’re big fans of Schwartz Legacy Planning law firm. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
I believe what makes our firm special is the level of service and care our staff provides clients.
I know estate planning is overwhelming and can induce anxiety for a lot of folks.
However, from the moment a client inquires about our services to the signing of their documents – and beyond – we are there to support them.
We’re not just an estate planning law firm, we are a group of trusted advisors.
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
I am a wife and mom to three children – 13, 11 and 9 years old. I started my own law firm because I wanted flexibility to practice my own way. I feel like I can serve clients better because I can control my work-life balance. On any random weekday, I can be in a two hour meeting with a client and later that day be at a middle school orchestra concert or little league game…and I love that.
Pricing:
- We have three levels of estate planning and they start around $2500.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.SchwartzLegacyPlanning.com/schedule
- Instagram: @caseyschwartzlegacyplanner
- Facebook: @Schwartz Legacy Planning
