AIP Professional Series · Chapter 3 of 11 · Intake

Client Intake and the Estate Planning Interview

The quality of information gathered at intake determines the quality of the plan that emerges from it

Family InventoryAsset InventoryIntake Summary

Pre-Meeting Preparation

Why Estate Planning Intake Is the Most Document-Intensive in Civil Practice

Estate planning clients come to the office before anything has gone wrong. They may not have thought systematically about their assets, their family relationships, or their planning goals before arriving. Part of the intake function is helping clients understand what information the planning process requires and why it matters — and creating the space for thoughtful responses to questions most people do not think about regularly.

The paralegal's intake function is: developing and sending the pre-meeting questionnaire, gathering and organizing the documents the client provides, and preparing the intake summary that structures the gathered information for the attorney's review. The attorney conducts the actual planning interview. The paralegal's contribution before that meeting shapes its quality.

The family inventory must capture: Every person whose interests are relevant to the estate plan — client, spouse, all children (including stepchildren, adopted children, children from prior relationships), grandchildren, elderly parents. Plus ages, citizenship and residency status (non-citizen spouses require specific planning), any beneficiaries with special needs, and family dynamics the attorney needs to know: estrangement, financially vulnerable beneficiaries, blended family tensions.

The Asset Inventory — Eight Categories

Real property. Primary residence, vacation property, investment property, rental property — including state of location for out-of-state property.

Financial accounts. Checking, savings, brokerage, money market — with titling and ownership structure.

Retirement accounts. IRAs, Roth IRAs, 401(k)s, 403(b)s, pensions, annuities — these pass by beneficiary designation, not the will.

Life insurance. Death benefit, cash value, policy ownership, and designated beneficiary.

Business interests. Closely held corporations, partnerships, LLCs, professional practices — require valuation and succession planning attention.

Digital assets. Cryptocurrency, online accounts, domain names, digital files with financial value — document access credentials separately.

Significant personal property. Art, jewelry, vehicles, collectibles — include approximate values and any sentimentally significant items.

Assets that pass outside the estate: Retirement accounts, life insurance, joint tenancy assets, and payable-on-death accounts may be the client's most valuable assets — and they are governed by rules entirely separate from the will. Identifying them and flagging them for attorney review of the beneficiary designation structure is one of the paralegal's most important intake contributions.

Ready-to-Use Prompts

Adapt these for your practice. Click Copy to paste into any AI tool.

Estate Planning Intake Questionnaire

Please help me develop a comprehensive estate planning intake questionnaire for [client profile: young family / pre-retiree / business owner / blended family]. The questionnaire should cover: family inventory (parties, relationships, ages, citizenship, special circumstances), asset inventory (real property, financial accounts, retirement accounts, life insurance, business interests, digital assets, significant personal property), existing estate planning documents, current beneficiary designations, planning goals and priorities, and any specific concerns or circumstances. Format as a client-facing questionnaire with clear sections that a client can complete before the attorney meeting.

Intake Summary Template

Please create a template for an estate planning intake summary to be prepared by the paralegal for attorney review. The template should organize information from the client intake questionnaire. Include sections for: client identification, family inventory with relationship and citizenship notes, asset inventory with ownership and titling notes, existing documents, current beneficiary designations with apparent issues flagged, stated planning goals, identified issues requiring attorney review (flag but do not assess significance), documents to be prepared, and attorney action items. Format for use as a Word document template.

Chapter Quiz

Client Intake and the Estate Planning Interview

5 questions — no limit on attempts.