While there seem to be several online resources that can easily prepare a fast estate plan and provide relevant documentation, the question however comes in validity and appropriateness of these plans and documents. The growing term ‘do it yourself’ or having an online estate plan might not be considered a secure choice when it comes to estate planning.
Although an online plan may provide cheap way of estate planning, would the uncertainty of this document be worth it? Notably, if you are new to estate planning, you might not understand some of the legal terms an as just create an invalid estate plan.
You may be limited
When you make your own estate plans, you may be limited to ideas that would help you make better plans. Apart from the long and difficult process of planning your estate alone, unknown to you, you may be blinded to making the right decisions. There is always a chance that the estate plans made in this situation will go to court with the families or beneficiaries of the estate questioning the details.
Estate laws are complex
Usually estate laws are complex and not readily understood by someone without a legal background. It would be a bad idea to carry out estate planning knowing that there are critical legal technicalities. These technicalities may include tax implications, zoning, mode of ownership, several legal requirements, among others. Yet, creating an estate plan online may not provide you access to exactly what you are doing. For instance, not all kinds of assets can even be distributed simply with a will or trust without having to go through some form of retitling.
Should you involve an Estate Planning Attorney?
Many people are yet to understand how important an estate planning attorney is. I guess that is why you often find people arguing about the importance of these professional in the estate planning process.
However, regardless of what you think, or what you hear on the streets, the truth remains that an estate planning attorney is key to creating a good estate plan. Why is that so? You may ask. Well, here are a few reasons to cement this claim:
- An Estate Planning Attorney can help you Update necessary estate planning documents:
If you still think an estate planning attorney is not important, here is something you should consider.
Estate planning documents need to be updated frequently. For instance, when major changes occur in your family, you will definitely need to tweak your estate plan a bit to accommodate those changes. Who will help you do this? Of course, it is an estate planning attorney. These professionals are the best when it comes to updating estate planning documents.
- An estate planning Attorney will ensure that your estate plan adheres to current laws
Like other laws, estate planning laws changes. And what better way to create an estate plan that adheres to these laws than to hire an estate planning attorney?
You see, estate planning attorney are accustomed to the necessary laws, even the current ones. So, you’ll be sure that they’ll help you create an estate plan that conforms to the estate planning laws of your state or country.
- An estate planning attorney can provide you with the best legal advice
When planning your estate, you will be required to make several important decisions. With the advice of an estate planning attorney, there is a huge chance that you won’t make decisions that would end up hurting you or those you care about.
So, all In all, it is very necessary to have an estate planning attorney for the best estate plan.
Bottom line
If your choice of software doesn’t allow you access to a lawyer, or if you plan to take it on your own, you may want to consider asking a lawyer to simply evaluate what you’ve generated so that you know it’s right and that it achieves what you intend to do. You don’t have to pay an expert to prepare or review your estate plan documents. Many estate lawyers would be more than willing to review the documents you created yourself for a more modest fee.
You may think that any estate plan is better than not creating an estate plan. Simple mistakes, even something as seemingly innocent as a typo—may lead to terrible unintended consequences. As such you need to estate planning experts to help you through creating and implementing your estate plan
