CLIENT-DRIVEN ESTATE PLANNING: A DIFFERENT APPROACH TO ESTATE PLAN DESIGN

By J. Christopher Toews, Esq.^*

I. INTRODUCTION

Recently a new client came to my office for a review of his estate plan. He was an Italian man in his late 60’s who had done very well in the construction business despite having come from a poor family and having quit school after the ninth grade. His net worth at the time he saw me was over $10 million and growing.

The plan he handed me was about two inches thick and had been prepared by a prominent Los Angeles law firm. As he put it on my desk, he looked at me with obvious frustration and said, testily, "What does this goddamn thing say?"