Do-It-Yourself estate planning, or DIY estate planning, means to take the services of a DIY provider and make your estate plan. The services provided by these people are claimed to come at a low cost, however they may not be qualified and many of their documents are crafted from an internet document that doesn’t account for individual cases. These services must be employed with caution.
People who look for Do-It-Yourself services instead of a proper professional consultation in complex areas such as estate planning must be aware of the consequences of their actions. Even though they save money by using will-writing software, they could be at a risk. Consumers should be aware that even people that are skilled and qualified may be reluctant to venture into something that has strong legal ramifications if done incorrectly.
There are various issues that come with taking up DIY options in estate planning. These include:
- Lacking answers to queries. DIY estate planning will not resolve your queries, unlike an estate planning lawyer. Plus, it may be difficult to understand the purpose of every estate planning document that you require. An estate planning attorney can advise you regarding how to choose a conservator or guardian of minor children, personal representative, and/or the best power of attorney agent.
- It doesn’t prepare you for probable contingencies. A lawyer discusses and prepares the client for likely emergencies. This is in contrast to the DIY option. Possible emergencies may include an unnatural death in your family. The disability of someone that has a name in your estate planning documents may be another example. Many online estate planning documents fail to account for some situations. An estate planning attorney can assist you in this. He or she can answer all your questions about the incidents that can affect your estate plans.
- It doesn’t offer expert advice. Online DIY estate planning does not provide you with professional advice regarding many things in the estate planning procedure. Some of these include the ways to diminish the requirement for your estate probate and the methods to prevent your estate’s depreciation owing to gift and estate taxes.
- Documents can be void. A DIY estate planning service provider will not inform you on how you need to carry out your estate planning documents in the right ways. According to Arizona law, there are certain estate planning execution requisites that you must meet so that your power of attorney and can be validated. An estate planning attorney can provide customized solutions to their customers. This includes those who are stuck in dire scenarios such as if you owe estate taxes, have to take care of a disabled child, own a company, etc.
These are some of the pitfalls that you must be wary of when going for the Do-It-Yourself estate planning option available on the internet. Hiring an estate planning attorney is a better option than creating your own estate planning documents online.
Although the latter option is inexpensive, it’s not advisable. Therefore, you should consult a qualified estate planning lawyer in Arizona who can help you in establishing your power of attorney, revocable living trust, and will.
Call Arizona Estate Attorney Dave Weed at (480)467-4325 to discuss your case today.