Estate Lawyers Seeing More Prominent Role, More Biz
Robert Louis, who co-chairs the wealth management and estates and trusts practice at Saul Ewing in Philadelphia, has found himself doing something unexpected.
He’s fending off headhunters looking to poach lawyers from his practice group.
It’s a sign that business is good and getting better, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer.
So what’s driving clients to estate law experts?
The paper points out that, “People 50 and over are sitting on a vast pile of wealth.” Indeed, citing stats from the insurer MetLife, the Inquirer notes that 70 percent of the net worth of U.S. households is controlled by this demographic.
Age issues that make the over-60 group more vulnerable to fraud and changes in inheritance laws “is helping to fuel a sharp uptick in business for lawyers who are experts in wills and estates and overall wealth management,” the Inquirer notes.
Louis tells the paper that many clients are concerned that the Obama administration will raise inheritance taxes, so they’re seeking estate structures that minimize a tax hit.
