3 Common Mistakes with Do It Yourself (“DIY”) Estate Planning

You’ve probably seen the commercials on television promoting the popular DIY estate planning options. Arguably one of the most famous options that a person has is through the platform LegalZoom which encourages the idea that you can have total and complete control over your estate plan without the need of going through an estate planning attorney. The belief is that estate planning isn’t something that is complicated. Therefore, you don’t need an estate planning attorney to guide you and you can do it on your own. However, countless families have experienced the negative consequences of this do-it-yourself estate planning in the form of an overly complicated probate process.

3 Serious Errors with DIY Estate Planning

It’s strongly recommended that you always partner with an estate planning attorney when you’re ready to put your estate plan. By taking the route of trying to put together a DIY estate plan, you run the risk of completely destroying your estate plan. Here are three examples of serious mistakes with DIY estate planning:

• Lack of understanding when it comes to the legalese of the document
Although there are certain parts of a Last Will & Testament that are straightforward, there is also a tremendous amount of legalese that is associated with this type of document. Trying to navigate this on your own without any background legal is challenging to say the least. Although you can do an abundance of research when it comes to this this field of law, remember, an estate planning attorney specifically went to school for years. Instead of going through the guesswork, take advantage of their services.

• Picking the wrong people in the positions
While putting together an estate plan, you will be asked to select certain people for certain positions. As you’re going through a DIY program, it’s easy to make a mistake and appoint an individual to the wrong position. When you work with an estate planning attorney, on the other hand, you have the peace of mind of knowing that your documents have been thoroughly reviewed by an experienced set of eyes.

• Believing that you only need a Last Will & Testament
One of the biggest mistakes that a person makes is believing that the only estate planning document that they need is a Last Will & Testament. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Although a Last Will & Testament will identify the people in your life that you want to receive any assets or tangible personal property once you pass away, it doesn’t cover everything. For instance, what if you’re unable to make health care or financial decisions for yourself for a stretch of time. Unless you have certain documents in place, there will be no one there to make those important decisions on your behalf. Therefore, if you’re going to put together an estate plan, you should always work with an attorney to put together a comprehensive estate plan which will give you the peace of mind of knowing that there are certain avenues in place.

Avoid These Errors By Partnering with a Trusted Estate Planning Attorney

In order for you to completely avoid any issues with not only your estate planning but causing chaos during the probate process, you need to work with an experienced estate planning attorney. Our office will offer you the personalized experience that you need when it comes to putting together your plan and avoiding any issues that a person who used a program such as LegalZoom may face. Get in touch with us today for more information about putting together your estate plan.