As we have previously posted in other blogs and through social media posts, Bellomo and Associates is now open. However, we are only accommodating in-office meetings on a limited basis.

Each attorney is taking one day a week of in-office meetings and four days a week of phone calls and Zoom meetings. Our paralegals are also taking meetings as scheduled, and we will ensure that only one attorney or paralegal is in the office at a time conducting meetings.

There is certainly no question that some people have very strong opinions about whether they want to meet in person or virtually. However, there are certainly several others who don’t necessarily have a very strong opinion and who have asked us whether they should meet in person or whether they should meet over the phone or through Zoom or another video conferencing capability.

My personal opinion is that Zoom or video conferencing offers us the best of both worlds, which is the ability for us to see each other and for the clients to see my screen and any and all documents that I want to show them. Clients are also able to drop off paperwork ahead of time, and my team will upload that information into their matter so that I can show their documents on the screen as well.

Because of this, I personally love the option of video conferencing or meeting, because it gives us the ability to see each other and interact but keeps us safe as we are not in person and running the risk of infecting each other or our loved ones. Phone conferences are certainly better than nothing and still allow us to take the information necessary, but I believe it loses the personal touch that in person or video still allows us. I don’t mind phone conferences after we have met each other and there is already a relationship, but prefer not to do a phone conference for the first meeting or when we need to be able to read each other’s expressions and body language or to be able to view documents together.

Ultimately, nothing beats face to face, and if a client has a strong opinion about wanting to come in, we are certainly able to accommodate that. However, if a client does not have a strong opinion and is willing to go either way, I would recommend that they use the Zoom option.

Thank you for you continued support and trust. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us for any questions you may have about our process and getting your estate planning done. You can call us at (717)845-5390. Fill out our simple form by clicking here and we’ll call you. And you can always join us for any one of our upcoming workshops – just click here to RSVP for the one that works best for you!