Most of the media has been focused on the uncertainty surrounding the estate tax exemption amount and how to plan for the "tax" aspect considering the change in law. While that is an important consideration I suspect that most people have a different focus in mind when planning their estate. Specifically families want to pass along their values and beliefs.
Many attorneys focus too much on the numbers rather than really listening and helping their clients explain their values and actually help them capture their values. The first time people's lives that this becomes important is the birth or adoption of a child. Parent's want to make sure that their children are raised with their values if something were to happen to them. Parents want to make sure financial resources are available to take care of their children but most of all they want them to know their parents and grow into the adults they would have raised.
The second key time that parents think about preserving values and "family knowledge" is when a parent gets sick or passes on. They often realize how little family history they know or has been preserved. While this information can be gathered and preserved by families themselves, the estate planning process is an ideal time to start things off while it is at the top of everyone's mind. See if attorney focuses on helping you preserve your values and "family knowledge" during their planning process.
Since we see that taxes are often not the main reason to do estate planning review the list below and see if any of these are important to you.
marriages and family groups and dysfunctional relationships
between family members
business
children who are not capable of managing them competently