Probate consultation record-readiness and responsibility workbook

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How to use this resource

Use R1 and R2 as anonymous record labels and T1 and T2 for tasks described by counsel. Note whether a record can be located and whether it is an original, copy or uncertain version; do not record contents or storage locations. Keep reported administration status separate from counsel-reviewed status. After a private consultation, link each attorney-described task to the role counsel says handles it, whether it is included or separate, and the next clarification needed. These notes do not confer authority or replace original documents or the engagement agreement.

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Probate Attorney preparation checklist

• Describe the broad post-death consultation purpose without naming people or disclosing estate details.
• Keep status reported by others separate from status an attorney has reviewed; mark unknowns explicitly.
• List anonymous record labels and readiness only, rather than copying contents or identifying storage locations.
• Flag questions about your role for counsel without assuming that a name in a document establishes authority.
• Ask the firm how it handles conflicts and private intake before sharing personal documents or facts.
• Use counsel's own task descriptions to separate administration, coordination, reporting and any dispute work.
• For each proposed task, clarify the responsible role, included or separate scope, private input needed and update process.
• Compare the same proposed engagement, including exclusions, fees, expenses, communication and unresolved questions.

Questions for the probate attorney

1. How does your practice relate to the broad probate or estate-administration help I want to discuss?
2. What do you need for conflicts and private intake, and how will you explain whom you would represent?
3. How will you review uncertain records and explain my role without relying on assumptions about authority?
4. Which administration, coordination, reporting or dispute tasks would you include, and what would be separate?
5. For each proposed task, who handles the work, what private input is needed, and how are status and open questions communicated?
6. How are fees, expenses, scope changes, completion records and any transition to separate counsel or other professionals documented?

Write down the answers and any exclusions. If two proposals describe different work, clarify the difference before comparing their totals. Leave unanswered points blank until the professional confirms them.

Official references and scope

These are original planning prompts, with AI assistance, prepared by PickYourPro.ai. Official links checked October 18, 2026. This pack has not been independently reviewed by a licensed specialist.

• ABA: Executors and Trustees ↗

  Context only for asking counsel to explain a proposed role. The page includes historical tax figures; those and its legal or procedural assertions are not reproduced or treated as current advice here.

• FTC: Hiring a Lawyer ↗

  Consumer context for discussing relevant experience, information exchange, written engagement scope and fee arrangements. This workbook does not recommend a fee structure or predict an outcome.

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