Law is a wide profession. It has different branches all which people need representation. For example we have family law, business law, personal injury and accident law among others. Different people will choose to specialize with varying branches. Estate planning/probate law involves the administration of property of a deceased person. Usually you will have written a will on how to subdivide you property amongst all your children and trustees. However, sometimes there may come up issues which make this impossible and hence to sort this out, then a lawyer comes in handy.
Probate law is wide. It involves looking at who is the legal heir of the property and trying to argue out a case based on that. There are many probate litigators all over the country but very few of them are the best. You thus need to do a good background check before you decide on which one to pick. Here is a guideline that will help you with this. Consider the time period that the probate lawyer as been practicing. Just like other professions, the longer the number of years served the more efficient and skilled the individual is. He has most like handled similar issues and thus knows how to work around them.
You also need to look at how many cases in trial that the lawyer has won. A courtroom battle is usually heated up. You therefore want an individual that is used to such high pressure cases. You may not need a highly experienced attorney to help you in writing a will but you will definitely need one to contest is for you successfully. An attorney that has represented many people will in read your chances of winning the case.
The law profession is guided by some code of conduct or professional guidelines that the lawyers are supposed to adhere to. You should hence evaluate your prospective lawyers that you want to choose along these lines. For example, you should check whether they have any disciplinary issues or cases. The attorneys should be ethical in the manner they handle your case. For example, your lawyer should uphold attorney client privilege where he should not share any details regarding your case to other parties without your consent.
The amount of legal fees you are charged will affect your decision. A good probate attorney will not be cheap since he knows what he is bringing to the table. Therefore do not just go for a lawyer because he is cheap. Go for quality. However, there are guidelines that given how much legal fees they should charge, ensure you are aware of these limits so that you are not duped. It would come in handy to get quotations from various lawyers in the same field so that you have an estimate or range to work with. Consider also whether the lawyer you are choosing has specialized in probate issues only or is a jack of all trades. You want a lawyer that is an expert in the area you need.