Faith into Life Series: How I Praise Jesus as a Probate and Estate Planning Attorney
A letter to the young professional who feels like they have nothing to offer the Kingdom
So many people have a bad taste in their mouth about attorneys.
People joke that we “just help the rich get richer,” that we profit off of death, and suffering, or live in ivory towers of legalese far removed from real life. I’ve wrestled with those stereotypes.
I’ll admit sometimes it’s hard to find purpose when that’s how my profession is seen. So how then, can I serve God in such a seemingly Godless field?
In little ways. Very little ways, it seems. But I believe the Lord works powerfully through small things.
“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.” — Colossians 3:23
This is my humble attempt to serve Christ in the courtroom, at my desk, and through every legal situation I encounter.
1. Meeting people where they’re at
When I meet clients in a probate case, they are often overwhelmed, grieving, confused, and exhausted. The administrative process feels cold and anything but understanding, and it certainly doesn’t feel like it honors the life that was just lost.
Picture this, you and your closest friends and family members just laid their mother, grandfather, friend, or neighbor to rest. There was signing, bouquets of flowers, stories shared, tears, laughter, and loving words exchanged.
…Now, they find themselves in a cold, fluorescent lit office with piles of tax documents, real estate issues, and the possessions that their loved one left behind…
But I try to be warm. Present. Loving. I ask Jesus to let me be His hands, even in the tedium. I aim to reflect His peace and His pace in the way I explain things, listen, and guide; but especially the way I listen.
Before every probate hearing, I pray for the client I’ll represent. On the drive to the courthouse, I ask God to comfort their hearts:
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” — Matthew 5:4
I also pray for the soul of the one who has passed, entrusting them to God’s mercy. I whisper these names like a litany, offering what little I can.
2. Listening, receiving, and praying
When I work on an estate plan, I get to know people not just on paper, but as people. Their stories, their families, their fears and their dreams. So often, family pain bubbles up during these conversations. I carry those intentions with me to prayer, in the quiet drafting of documents, and in the silent places of my heart.
“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” — Galatians 6:2
In being a witness and confidant, I remind myself that it is both my job as an attorney, and as a Christian not to judge. By opening the space into one of non judgment, the individual whom I hope to serve is free to bear their heart, and I am thus free to bear burdens, if only for a moment. In this way, I can be united with Christ. In this way, I can offer this as a prayer.
3. By “offering it up”
On hard days when deadlines loom or grief hangs heavy, I try to offer my work to God. I ask that it be sanctified, somehow, in His mercy. I ask that I don’t become the stereotype. That He would turn even my fatigue into a form of intercession for those I serve.
In all this, I remember: my profession is not my purpose. My purpose is to love. And love, even in probate, even in paperwork, is never wasted.
“God has created me to do Him some definite service… He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another. I have my mission.” — St. John Henry Newman
To others like me out there, who sometimes feel lost on how to serve the Kingdom in their profession, know that there are so many little and divine ways, all you have to do is pray, and look around for those little opportunities, and don’t forget to offer it up!