A coherent strategy for the transfer of assets is, of course, crucial to the success of any estate plan. But our best-laid plans will fall far short of expectations if the trusts we’ve so carefully drafted are never properly funded.

If the trust is the car, the funding is the fuel. Without gas in the tank, that beautiful sedan with the precision engine is just metal on four wheels. It’s not going anywhere. The same holds true for an estate plan. Until it’s properly funded, the “plan” is just a plan – a plan that can’t be executed. Like the car with the needle on empty, it’s not going to take you anywhere. 

In a recent study on how law firms use their websites in marketing their business, LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell found that the most popular page on a firm’s site is the biography page. It’s a fact: 85% of site visitors will spend time reviewing an attorney’s bio. Clearly, the biography plays a critical role in your legal marketing program. And a thoughtful, well-written biography can be a real marketing asset.

What does a well-written estate planning attorney’s biography look like? Well, it doesn’t look like a resume, a CV, or a list of bulleted achievements. For many areas of legal practice, a bio that simply covers education, licensure and professional accomplishments may be suitable and quite enough.

For the estate planning attorney, however, the bio needs to say more.

You’ve outlined a business plan and defined your target. You’ve crafted a mission statement, a vision statement and spent time fine-tuning your “elevator” message. So how do you go about practice building? It’s time to begin creating your legal marketing kit, the tools that will help position you for success.