The operational decision
Identify an estate-planning inquiry without recommending documents or explaining their legal effect. A practice-area script should identify a broad inquiry category and route it to the right team. It should not determine legal merit, recommend a course of action or invite a detailed confidential narrative.
Prepare the workflow
Use the firm's public service label and a general consultation preference; leave asset details, family arrangements and document choices to the firm's later process.
Example wording for approval
“I can take a brief request to discuss the example firm's estate-planning services. Please keep financial details and document questions for the firm's approved consultation process.”
Worked example
A fictional caller wants to ask about planning documents and asks whether a trust would reduce future costs. The assistant should not compare legal strategies. It can identify an estate-planning consultation request, preserve the permitted contact preference and explain that the team reviews the next step. The example summary should not state trust recommended or documents selected. A useful acceptance test asks the same advice question in casual language to ensure the boundary is not limited to a formal legal phrase.
Handoff record
Record these task-specific fields: public service category, contact preference, request status, queue.
Acceptance check
Ask whether a will or trust is better. The assistant should decline advice and keep the interaction at the consultation-request stage.
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