There is no shortage of available online estate planning tools on the market, offering either free or low-cost health care proxies, powers of attorney, and wills. Why on earth would you hire a real attorney to do those things when you can whip them up in less than an hour and be done? Especially if you don’t have a complicated situation, or you don’t have a lot of assets?
These DIY documents are not tailored to your situation, simple as it may be. Am I biased? Of course I am. But I’ve seen the trail of wreckage these documents can leave behind for your loved ones to navigate.
- unaddressed state-specific laws
- complications of and requirements for leaving assets to minors
- the minefield of leaving assets to beneficiaries with special needs
- tax ramifications
By using these free tools, and not seeking the guidance of a specialized attorney, you may not be addressing probate avoidance. Your estate planning documents and your beneficiary designations may be at odds. You may lack a successor on a health care proxy, and have no living will provisions or a HIPAA release for your agent. There may be no power to transfer assets in your power of attorney to enable eligibility for certain benefits. Your will may not include authority for your personal representative to sell your home.
Further, more often than not, these documents are not executed correctly under state law, or are executed in a manner that requires a belabored and costly process in the court.
You don’t need to have millions, or young children, or a blended family, or complicated assets to need a professionally drafted, customized estate plan. Hiring a qualified estate planning attorney now will lower the financial, administrative, and emotional cost to the ones who care for you during your life, and those you leave behind.