Do-It-Yourself Estate Planning – What’s It Worth To You?

I gave a presentation last week, and a couple came up to me and mentioned getting social media ads about generating estate planning documents with inexpensive software. They asked why they should use an attorney instead of going with one of these DIY toolkits. I thought it was a valid question. I asked them what they were really looking for, a plan or just documents? 

Ask yourself that question as you’re reading this: Do you want documents, or do you want a plan? Because even the most well-intended and thorough document can be useless if it isn’t applicable to you. Or if it’s not executed properly. Or if you do not know how to effectively use it to your advantage.

I’ve met families who have used a Last Will & Testament they printed from a website and had to tell them it was not a valid Will because it was not executed properly. The probate court wouldn’t accept the Will and none of the person’s distribution intentions were followed. Some of those standard online forms aren’t State-specific, so they may not be appropriate for the State in which you live.

I’ve had prospective clients believe their family members’ Will avoids going to probate court, and everything should be divided up according to the distribution terms of that document. No one ever explained to those families that ALL Wills go through probate if that is the document upon which you are relying to distribute your assets at death.

I’ve seen families unintentionally disinherit a family member or someone else important to them because the fillable lines of the template weren’t clear on how to be completed. This is a huge issue for blended families who have always treated stepchildren and birth children equally. Spoiler—that’s not how the court would rule as a default without a Will!

The biggest issue to ask when it comes to using online document templates for Powers of Attorney, Wills, and Trusts, is, once the document is in place, to whom do you turn if you need questions answered? 

Keep in mind that when you set up an estate plan, you are dealing with everything you and your family have built or accumulated, and worked for, over a lifetime. Are you really comfortable that you tied everything up in a nice, neat bow so that everything will pan out exactly as you want it to after spending a few minutes inputting your information into a standardized document? That would be a lot of confidence in something that other people spend years perfecting and fine-tuning when dealing with professionals in the financial, legal, and insurance industries.

Put this choice in a different context: do you expect the same level of customer service and dining experience at a fast-food restaurant that you do at a fancy, sit-down restaurant? It’s not better or worse it’s just…different.

We don’t sell documents to families. We share with them a vision. We educate them on what they actually need to accomplish their goals. We take all of the puzzle pieces that are dumped out onto the table—the questions about who should make what decisions for you in regard to different circumstances, and who you want to leave things to and under what conditions you want them to receive those things—and we turn the puzzle pieces into the completed picture that it was always supposed to look like.

An estate planning attorney is going to be there to listen to you. Our world has automated so much in such a short time that we are conditioned to believe that we don’t need any help when we have the internet at our disposal. But there is a very strong human element to estate planning, that with a little forethought and a little personal conversation, you can retain all the control over what happens to your person and your estate.

I once heard someone say that good service may wind up being expensive in some instances, but poor service (or no service) can cost a fortune. So, the question for you is: do you want a document, or do you want a plan?

Give us a call to schedule your complimentary personal consultation.