Estate planning is personal. Clients need time to think, research, and often coordinate with family members before making important decisions about their wills, trusts, and legacy plans.
But here’s what’s frustrating:
The traditional back-and-forth scheduling process wastes your time and theirs. Phone calls during business hours. Email chains that go nowhere. Missed connections that delay important planning.
The solution? Consultation booking tools that handle scheduling AND payment collection in one seamless process.
When you have the right system, potential clients can book and pay for consultations on their schedule. No more administrative hassle. No more unpaid consultation fees. No more missed opportunities.
The best booking tools for estate planners do more than schedule meetings:
- Allow clients to book consultations 24/7
- Collect consultation fees upfront to reduce no-shows
- Send automated reminders and confirmations
- Integrate with your existing calendar and practice management systems
- Provide professional, branded scheduling pages
These are the tools I recommend for solo estate planning practitioners who want to streamline their consultation process and get paid upfront.
Each tool has been tested with legal professionals and offers the security, payment processing, and customization features you need.
My Top 3 Consultation Booking Tools for Estate Planners
- Calendly: Most popular option with excellent payment integration
- Acuity Scheduling: Advanced features with robust customization for legal practices
- LawTap: Legal-specific platform designed by attorneys for law firms
Calendly
Best for estate planners who want simple, reliable booking with payment collection
Pricing: From $10 per month; limited free plan available
Calendly consistently ranks as the most popular scheduling tool across all industries, and for good reason. It’s remarkably easy to set up and use, with payment integration that actually works.
For estate planning practitioners, Calendly shines because it removes friction from the consultation booking process.
Collect Payment at Booking
Calendly’s Stripe integration lets you collect payments from invitees as part of the appointment booking process, available on all paid plans.
This is crucial for estate planners. When someone books a consultation and pays immediately, they’re far more committed to showing up.
Here’s how it works:
A potential client visits your booking page and sees your available consultation slots. They select a time that works for them, then immediately pay your consultation fee through Stripe.
Immigration Attorney Daniel Larson schedules legal consultations via Calendly and shared: “I’ve just started using these tools, and I can’t believe I didn’t jump on this sooner. Scheduling and payments? So easy now!”
The payment process supports major credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and bank payments. Receipts are automatically sent to clients.
Reduce No-Shows with Upfront Payment
When a meeting is paid in advance, invitees are more likely to show up, plus no more chasing invoices or dealing with last-minute cancellations.
Estate planning consultations often involve significant preparation on your part. You might review documents, research specific estate tax implications, or prepare preliminary recommendations.
When clients pay upfront, they respect your time investment. The financial commitment creates accountability.
Professional Branding and Integration
Calendly allows you to customize your booking page with your law firm’s branding. You can add your logo, adjust colors, and write personalized booking instructions.
The platform integrates seamlessly with Google Calendar, Outlook, and other major calendar systems. This prevents double-booking and keeps your schedule synchronized across all devices.
Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Simple setup process that takes minutes, not hours | Limited customization compared to more advanced platforms |
| Excellent payment processing through Stripe integration | Payment via PayPal is accepted for customers located outside the United States only for international users |
| Automated email reminders and confirmations | Basic intake forms compared to legal-specific solutions |
Calendly Alternative: Setmore
Setmore’s cloud-based scheduling software integration with LawPay will empower visitors to schedule and pre-pay for appointments, giving lawyers more time to capture new leads and focus on cases.
Setmore offers a free plan with basic scheduling features, making it attractive for solo practitioners just starting out. The LawPay integration ensures IOLTA compliance for legal payment processing.
However, Calendly’s broader feature set and more intuitive interface make it a better choice for most estate planning practices.
Acuity Scheduling
Best for estate planners who need advanced intake forms and detailed client information collection
Pricing: From $16 per month (billed annually) or $20 per month (billed monthly); 7-day free trial available
Acuity Scheduling goes beyond basic appointment booking. It’s designed for service providers who need to collect detailed information from clients before consultations.
For estate planners, this means you can gather essential details about assets, family structure, and planning goals before you ever meet with a client.
Advanced Intake Forms for Estate Planning
Intake forms can be added to collect necessary client information upfront, a feature especially useful for industries requiring detailed data before appointments, such as medical or consulting services.
Estate planning requires specific information to provide effective consultations. Acuity’s customizable forms let you collect:
- Family structure and beneficiary information
- Asset details and approximate values
- Existing estate planning documents
- Specific goals and concerns
- Preferred communication methods
This information helps you prepare targeted recommendations and makes consultation time more productive.
Flexible Payment Processing
Acuity supports collecting payments, deposits, or fees during booking through popular gateways like Stripe and PayPal, facilitating smooth and immediate transactions.
You can choose to collect full consultation fees upfront or just a deposit to secure the appointment. This flexibility works well for different types of estate planning services.
For initial consultations, many practitioners collect the full fee. For follow-up meetings or document signing appointments, a deposit might be more appropriate.
Professional Client Management
The platform maintains detailed client records including appointment history and contact information, enabling personalized service and streamlined follow-up communications.
Acuity automatically creates client profiles with appointment history, intake responses, and payment information. This helps you track client relationships and identify opportunities for additional services.
Estate planning often involves multiple meetings over months or years. Having detailed client histories makes it easier to provide continualized service.
Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Comprehensive client management with detailed records and appointment history | GetApp’s data shows that 37% of reviewers feel negative about Acuity’s value for money and pricing |
| Advanced intake forms perfect for collecting estate planning information | Learning curve for advanced features |
| Multiple payment processors including Stripe, PayPal, and Square | Calendar conflicts and customization limitations without CSS knowledge also frustrate users |
Acuity Scheduling Alternative: Zeeg
For businesses that are looking for advanced scheduling functionality without all the premium pricing, Zeeg is a compelling alternative to Acuity scheduling. Zeeg starts at $10/month for individual users and gives you unlimited appointments plus the core scheduling features you actually need.
Zeeg offers similar functionality to Acuity at a lower price point, making it worth considering for budget-conscious solo practitioners.
LawTap
Best for estate planners who want a legal-specific platform designed by attorneys
Pricing: LawTap Appointment Processing Fee of $1 or 1% (whichever is greater) plus Stripe Card Processing Fee applies to each appointment payment (2.9% + $0.30)
LawTap stands out because it’s specifically designed for legal professionals. LawTap is specifically designed by attorneys for law firms.
This focus on legal practice means the platform understands the unique needs of estate planning practitioners.
Legal Practice Integration
60,000 legal professionals across the USA and Canada trust Time Matters legal practice management software. LawTap is an Official Time Matters Integration Partner.
LawTap integrates with major legal practice management systems including Clio, LEAP, and Time Matters. This means appointment data automatically syncs with your case management system.
For estate planners using practice management software, this integration eliminates duplicate data entry and keeps client information synchronized.
Attorney Directory Exposure
Allow potential clients to find you and book an appointment online at any time with LawTap’s Lawyer Directory. The LawTap Lawyer Directory also allows clients to search for legal help based on their location, practice area, hourly rate and more.
Beyond scheduling existing clients, LawTap’s directory helps potential clients find estate planning attorneys in their area. Clients can filter by practice area, location, and consultation fees.
This dual function means LawTap serves as both a scheduling tool and a marketing platform for your practice.
Secure Payment Processing
LawTap enables law firms to set fees for appointments and securely accept card payments with Stripe. Payment is settled to your chosen bank account immediately post-appointment. LawTap is a Stripe Verified Partner.
LawTap handles payments through Stripe with immediate settlement to your bank account. As a Stripe Verified Partner, they meet strict security and compliance standards.
For estate planning practitioners handling sensitive financial information, this level of security provides peace of mind.
Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Specifically designed by attorneys for law firms | Per-transaction fees can add up for high-volume practices |
| Integration with major legal practice management systems | Smaller user base compared to general scheduling platforms |
| Built-in lawyer directory for client acquisition | Limited customization compared to general-purpose tools |
LawTap Alternative: Clio Grow
Clio Grow lets you automate your client intake process, schedule consultations, accept payments online, and automate emails and redundant tasks.
Clio Grow is part of the Clio ecosystem and offers similar legal-specific features. If you’re already using Clio Manage for practice management, Clio Grow provides seamless integration.
However, LawTap’s directory feature and broader practice management integrations make it more versatile for solo practitioners.
Making the Right Choice for Your Estate Planning Practice
Each of these tools serves different needs within estate planning practices.
Choose Calendly if you want the simplest, most reliable solution that just works. It’s perfect for practitioners who need basic scheduling with payment collection and don’t require extensive intake forms.
Choose Acuity Scheduling if you want advanced features and detailed client intake capabilities. The comprehensive forms and client management features work well for complex estate planning consultations.
Choose LawTap if you prefer a legal-specific platform and want the potential for client acquisition through their attorney directory.
The key is matching the tool to your practice needs and workflow. All three options will dramatically improve your consultation booking process compared to manual scheduling.
Most importantly, any of these tools will help you collect consultation fees upfront, reducing no-shows and ensuring you’re compensated for your valuable time.
