Estate Planning Intake: Capturing the Right Details by Phone

Estate planning intake serves two very different caller types: proactive planners who want to create or update their estate plan, and reactive callers who are dealing with a recent death and need probate assistance. Each type requires different intake questions, different urgency levels, and different attorney routing. AI handles both seamlessly, identifying the caller's situation and adapting the intake accordingly.

Proactive Planning Intake Fields

• Existing estate plan status — first plan or update needed
• Marital status and family structure — spouse, children, grandchildren
• General asset categories — real estate, business interests, investments
• Specific concerns — blended families, special needs dependents, business succession
• Preferred timeline — routine planning or triggered by specific event
• How they found the firm — referral source for attribution

Probate and Administration Intake Fields

• Date of death and relationship to decedent
• Existing will or trust — located or not
• Estate size estimate and asset types
• Pending deadlines — filing requirements, creditor notice periods
• Family disputes or anticipated contests
• Current personal representative or need for appointment

Urgency Classification for Estate Matters

Most estate planning calls are not urgent — but some are. A caller whose parent died yesterday needs immediate probate guidance. A caller facing a terminal diagnosis wants to establish their plan quickly. AI identifies these urgency triggers and routes accordingly, ensuring time-sensitive matters reach an attorney promptly while routine planning requests follow standard scheduling.