Trust & Estate Planning Attorney

Job Description

Job Description

This isn't a seat-warmer role. We're looking for an estate planning attorney who brings exceptional legal skill, genuine client empathy, and the drive to do their best work — every single day.

At Carolina Estate Planning, we've built a firm where talented attorneys can focus on what they do best: delivering rigorous, thoughtful estate plans that protect families and create lasting legacies. You'll work directly with firm owners, handle sophisticated client matters, and play a meaningful role in a firm that's growing fast and doing it right.

If you hold yourself to a high standard, thrive in a fast-paced environment, and believe that great legal work can genuinely change people's lives, we built this role for you.

Compensation: Base salary: $110,000 – $140,000, commensurate with experience. Incentive compensation: Performance-based bonus structure.

$110,000 – $140,000 yearly DOE + Performance-based Bonus

• Educate clients about options for retirement, donating to charity, and purchasing insurance
• Prepare wills, trusts, and power of attorney documents
• Discuss plans with clients for distributing clients’ assets
• Advocate on behalf of clients by understanding their needs, effectively analyzing the situation, and forming a strategy for a plan of action
• Attend court proceedings as needed to represent clients

What You'll Do

You'll own the client relationships from first consultation through final delivery, guiding families through some of the most important legal decisions of their lives. Day-to-day, that means:

• Consulting with prospective clients and leading them through our proprietary estate planning process
• Providing expert legal counsel and delivering superior estate planning and asset protection work products
• Researching, designing, and executing complex, customized estate plans — wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and more
• Educating clients on retirement strategies, charitable giving, and insurance options
• Guiding clients through the probate process with clear, actionable advice that cuts through complexity
• Representing clients in uncontested guardianship and probate hearings
• Maintaining detailed, organized client records that ensure seamless service and full compliance
• Attending court proceedings as needed

• Bachelor’s degree with a legal background and J.D. degree are required
• Great communication skills, particularly in stressful and emotional situations
• At least 1-2 years of working in a law firm on on estate planning and probate law issues is necessary
• Working knowledge of title insurance, wills, trusts, property management, and residential and commercial real estate law, including litigation
• Active member of the ABA (American Bar Association)

What You Bring

Required:

• Active North Carolina Bar license in good standing

• J.D. from an accredited law school

• 5+ years of estate planning, probate, and trust administration experience

• Proven ability to lead and manage in a fast-paced, service-oriented environment

• Exceptional communication skills — especially in high-stakes, emotionally sensitive situations

• Strong working knowledge of complex trust planning, probate, and trust administration

Preferred:

• LL.M. in Taxation or Estate Planning & Probate Board Certified Specialist designation

• Experience with WealthDocx Estate Planning or ElderDocx Elder Law software

• Active involvement with the American Bar Association (ABA)

Who Thrives Here

Our core values aren't aspirational — they're operational. The right candidate will recognize themselves in all of them:

• Integrity — You hold yourself to the highest ethical standards, always.

• Impact & Influence — You want your work to matter beyond the billable hour.

• Initiative — You anticipate problems and solve them before they escalate.

• Everyone Gets Helped — You believe great legal work ripples outward, and you show up fully for every person you encounter.

• 100% Accountability — You own your outcomes, no excuses.

• Growth Mindset — You're committed to continuous improvement, and you push those around you to grow, too.

• Rigor — You know that in estate planning, the difference between good and exceptional lives in the details.

We help North Carolina families plan for the future, settle loved ones' estates, and resolve disputes. Four values guide how we work:

• Stewardship. Clients trust us with their families' futures and a lifetime of assets. We act with integrity, protect confidentiality, and leave things better than we found them.

• Accountability. Families rely on us to get every detail right. We follow through, communicate early, and take ownership of our work.

• Everyone Gets Helped. Many people come to us grieving or facing family conflict. We listen first, explain things plainly, and treat everyone with dignity.

• Build a Life Worth Protecting. We help clients plan around what matters most, and we want the same for our team. We value results over looking busy.

If you want to be exceptionally good at what you do, we'd like to hear from you.