Probate and Elder Law Attorney Marketing: Reaching Families in Time

Probate law firm marketing works when it reaches people at the moment they need help: an executor who just received a letter from the court, or an adult child whose parent is moving into a nursing home. Those clients rarely shop months in advance. They search with urgent, specific questions, they often call on behalf of someone else, and many arrive through a financial advisor, CPA, hospice social worker or senior-living director. The firms that do well build separate pages for each matter type, train intake to handle family callers, cultivate referral sources within the ethics rules, and run seminars that inform without soliciting.

This guide covers elder law attorney marketing and probate lawyer marketing as their own disciplines. If your practice is mainly wills and trusts for people planning ahead, our guide to marketing an estate planning practice is the better fit.

Who Searches for a Probate or Elder Law Attorney

The person typing into Google is frequently a son, daughter, spouse or named executor, not the client, and they are searching because something has already happened: a death, a diagnosis, a hospital discharge or a family dispute.

That audience is growing. The U.S. Census Bureau reported in May 2023 that “in 2020, there were 55.8 million people age 65 and over in the United States (16.8% of the total population), up 38.6% from 40.3 million in 2010” (U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Census Demographic Profile release).

Map your content to the searcher and the moment, not just the practice area:

Build Separate Pages for Each Probate and Elder Law Matter

One combined “Estate Planning, Probate and Elder Law” page cannot answer all of those questions. Give each matter type its own page, written for the person reading it.

Probate administration

Executors want to know what they are responsible for, how long the process usually takes in your county, and what to do this week. Explain the steps in order, name the court that handles probate where you practice, and describe what the firm does at each stage. An attorney-reviewed executor checklist gives the reader something to keep.

Probate litigation

Will contests and disputes with executors or trustees attract a different reader: someone in conflict, often with a deadline. Keep this page separate from administration. Explain who can bring a challenge and why timing matters, and make clear that an attorney needs to assess their specific facts.

Medicaid planning and long-term care

Families searching for help paying for nursing home care are usually worried about cost and about doing something wrong. A clear explainer of how Medicaid treats gifts and transfers is useful here. Under federal law, for any disposal of assets made on or after February 8, 2006, the look-back period is 60 months before the date the person is institutionalized and has applied for Medicaid, with a different start date for applicants who are not institutionalized (42 U.S.C. § 1396p(c)(1)(B)). States administer the program and apply their own rules within that framework, so link to your state Medicaid agency and have an attorney review any page that describes eligibility.

Guardianship and conservatorship

Describe when a court-appointed guardian may be needed, which court handles the petition in your county, and what less restrictive options the family should ask about first. That balanced framing is more credible than treating guardianship as the default answer.

Our estate planning and probate SEO services include building this kind of matter-by-matter site structure along with the technical work behind it.

Local Search Follows the Courthouse

Probate is filed in a specific county, and families want a lawyer who knows that court. Build county pages only where you regularly handle matters, and make each one locally useful: the court, local practices your attorneys know, and how to meet with the firm. Pages that only swap the county name add little.

Your Google Business Profile matters just as much, because many family members search from a phone with “near me” in the query. Choose categories that match the work you do, list probate and elder law services specifically, and respond to reviews without confirming that the reviewer was a client or discussing any family’s matter.

Google’s Local Services Ads are another local option. Google says advertisers “pay only for leads related to your business and the services you offer” (Google Local Services Ads Help: Getting started). Check which legal categories are offered in your market, and review every lead you are charged for.

Intake When the Caller Is Not the Client

An adult child who calls about Mom’s nursing home bill is a lead, but Mom may be the client. Intake staff need to know who the firm would represent before scheduling anything.

Where the older person’s capacity is in question, the ethics rules shape the conversation. ABA Model Rule 1.14(a) says that when a client’s capacity to make adequately considered decisions is diminished, the lawyer “shall, as far as reasonably possible, maintain a normal client-lawyer relationship with the client” (ABA Model Rule 1.14). The comment adds that family members may take part in discussions, but the lawyer “must look to the client, and not family members, to make decisions on the client’s behalf,” except for protective action the rule allows (Comment [3] to Rule 1.14). Your state’s version controls, so have your attorneys write the intake script with that rule in mind.

A practical intake checklist for family callers:

• Who is calling, and who needs help? Record both names and the relationship.
• What happened, and when? A death date, a hospital discharge date or a care facility admission date sets the urgency.
• Which county? This decides whether the matter is one your firm handles.
• What documents exist? A will, trust, power of attorney or health care directive changes the conversation.
• Can the older person take part in a consultation? Flag it for the attorney rather than having staff make any judgment about capacity.
• Are other family members involved or in disagreement? Possible conflicts should reach an attorney before the first meeting.

Speed matters too: a family in crisis that reaches voicemail may call the next firm. Our guide to the law firm intake process covers response times, call tracking and follow-up in more detail.

Referral Sources and the Rules on Giving Value

Many probate and elder law matters start with a professional the family already trusts. The usual sources include:

• Financial advisors and CPAs, who see a client’s death or decline through account changes and tax filings.
• Senior-living and nursing home staff, including admissions directors and social workers who field questions about paying for care.
• Hospice and home health social workers, who work with families before and after a death.
• Geriatric care managers, who coordinate care and often recognize when legal planning is overdue.
• Other lawyers, such as estate planners who do not handle litigation, or family lawyers whose clients have aging parents.

The ethics limits matter here. ABA Model Rule 7.2(b) says a lawyer “shall not compensate, give or promise anything of value to a person for recommending the lawyer’s services,” with listed exceptions. One exception allows a reciprocal referral agreement with another lawyer or a nonlawyer professional only if “the reciprocal referral agreement is not exclusive” and “the client is informed of the existence and nature of the agreement.” Another permits “nominal gifts as an expression of appreciation that are neither intended nor reasonably expected to be a form of compensation for recommending a lawyer’s services” (ABA Model Rule 7.2). Your state’s version controls, and states differ on these points, so check with ethics counsel before setting up any arrangement with an advisor or facility.

Within those limits, be useful. Offer advisors a short session on how probate works in your county, and give referral sources a one-page summary of what you handle and how quickly you respond. Then keep the referring professional informed, with the client’s permission. Our article on building a referral marketing program covers tracking and follow-up.

Seminars and Workshops Without Crossing Into Solicitation

Educational seminars are a long-standing part of elder law marketing: Medicaid planning talks at senior centers, “what to do when a loved one dies” sessions at libraries, and lunch-and-learns for advisors. They let families meet an attorney before a crisis, and they raise two rules.

First, solicitation. ABA Model Rule 7.3(a) defines solicitation as a communication “directed to a specific person the lawyer knows or reasonably should know needs legal services in a particular matter,” and Rule 7.3(b) bars live person-to-person solicitation when “a significant motive for the lawyer’s doing so is the lawyer’s or law firm’s pecuniary gain,” with exceptions for other lawyers, people with a family, close personal or prior professional relationship, and people who routinely use that type of legal service for business (ABA Model Rule 7.3). A general talk to a room is different from approaching an attendee afterward because you heard about their mother’s diagnosis. Give attendees a way to contact the firm and let them decide.

Second, accuracy. Under ABA Model Rule 7.1, a communication is false or misleading if it “contains a material misrepresentation of fact or law, or omits a fact necessary to make the statement considered as a whole not materially misleading” (ABA Model Rule 7.1). Flyers promising to “protect all your assets from the nursing home” or “avoid probate completely” risk that problem. Describe the topics and let the attorney explain the limits in person. Your state’s version of each rule controls, and some states add their own filing or disclaimer requirements for advertising.

Paid Search: Filter Out the Wrong “Probate” Searches

Paid search can reach families the day they start looking, but “probate” queries attract many people who are not prospective clients. Real estate investors and agents search for probate leads and probate property marketing, job seekers look for probate paralegal roles, and do-it-yourself filers want free court forms. Add those themes as negative keywords from the start, and separate campaigns by matter type so a Medicaid planning ad never sends a reader to a will-contest page.

Measure by Matter Type

Probate administration, probate litigation, Medicaid planning and guardianship have different fees and timelines, so report on them separately. Each month, track inquiries by source (organic, Google Business Profile, paid, each referral partner, seminars), consultations held, matters opened, and spend or time per matter opened. Seminars and referral relationships often take months to produce work, so judge them over a longer window than paid search.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do probate lawyers get clients?

Mostly through local search by executors and family members, referrals from advisors, CPAs and other lawyers, and past clients. Paid search adds volume if campaigns filter out real estate and do-it-yourself searches.

Should probate and elder law be marketed separately from estate planning?

Usually, yes, at least at the page level. Estate planning readers are planning ahead for themselves, while probate and elder law readers are often family members dealing with something that has already happened. Separate pages let each one get a direct answer.

Can elder law attorneys pay for referrals from senior-living facilities?

ABA Model Rule 7.2(b) generally prohibits giving anything of value for a recommendation, with narrow exceptions such as non-exclusive reciprocal referral agreements that clients are told about and nominal thank-you gifts. Your state’s version controls, so ask ethics counsel before making any arrangement.

Be There When Families Start Looking

Probate and elder law clients find a lawyer in a hurry, often for someone else, and often on a referral source’s advice. A site with a clear page for each matter, intake that handles family callers well, and referral relationships built within the rules will put your firm in front of them. If you want help building that for your practice, see our SEO for probate and estate lawyers or contact On The Map to talk through your market.