The internet is full of self-help resources and guides. Therefore, when you start to consider estate planning, you might think that it’s an issue that you can tackle on your own with a little help from online tools. While it might seem like this approach will save you time and money, the reality is that creating your own estate plan without the assistance of a legal professional is risky and can lead to outcomes that you want to avoid. That’s why in this post we want to look at some of the biggest problems with DIY estate planning. Hopefully then you’ll have a better idea of the risks involved and why it’s important to find appropriate help as you work to build your estate plan.
The dangers of creating an estate plan on your own
When reading about estate planning online, the process might seem pretty simple. But it’s often much more complicated than initially thought. There are other issues that could prove problematic when you try to create your own estate plan, too. So, let’s look at some of the biggest risks with DIY estate planning:
- Use of boilerplate language: Several online tools use standard language for the creation of basic wills. While some of this language is okay, it risks running counter to your intentions, lacking the detail that’s necessary to ensure that your vision of the future is brought into reality. The boilerplate language could fail to use appropriate language that adheres to the law, too.
- Failure to comply with state law: Each state’s laws on estate planning can have specific and differing requirements. If you use forms that are from a different state or that simply fail to take nuances of the law into account, then you could wind up with estate planning documents that are legally invalid.
- Lack of options: One of the greatest aspects of estate planning is that it gives you the options necessary to tailor your plan to suit your needs. But if you turn to online help guides, you may be given the false impression that your options are limited. This can cause you to force your estate plan into a pre-defined box, resulting in you missing out on opportunities that would allow you to retain control of your estate in the long-term and enjoy tax benefits.
- Increased costs: Most people who use the internet to create an estate plan do so to save money. But this approach can end up backfiring on you. If your plan winds up being unclear or deemed legally invalid, then your estate can wind up being litigated after you’re gone. This can generate significant expenses that eat away at the assets you intended to hand down to your loved ones, and it can create conflict that threatens familial relationships.
- Loss of control and accountability: When you work with an attorney to create an estate plan, you can rest assured that they’re doing everything possible to generate the estate plan that you want. After all, that’s their job and they have an ethical obligation to represent your interests in line with their professional role and responsibilities. But if you create an estate plan on your own that ends up falling short, there’s no one to blame but yourself. This leaves you with little recourse to remedy the issue.
Don’t create an estate plan that fails to meet your needs
You have to be careful with how you create your estate plan so that you generate documentation that suits your short and long-term needs. That’s easier said than done given the intricacies involved in the process, but that shouldn’t drive you to cut corners. Instead, you should carefully consider the best way to create your estate plan so that you can make fully informed decisions that are right for you.