Do-It-Yourself Estate Planning Mistakes

Creating a Do-It-Yourself (DIY) estate plan may be easy and inexpensive. But the mistakes you make, because you are not an estate planning professional, could mean lots of headaches for your loved ones once you are gone.

Why Do Individuals Attempt DIY Estate Planning?

Individuals attempt DIY estate planning simply because it costs a lot less and can take a little less time than hiring an attorney. But this only makes sense to a point.

Creating a Will online, for example, could cost less than getting an attorney involved in the process. What’s more, most online services allow you to make certain estate planning documents in minutes.

However, the money and time you save could end up costing your estate and heirs a lot more money later if the document is declared to be invalid, or if you fail to add something that a skilled estate planning attorney would have known to add.

How Individuals Attempt DIY Estate Planning

There are two main ways individuals attempt DIY estate planning:

1. By downloading estate planning documents on the internet and filling them out themselves; and
2. By attempting to draft their own Amendments to their existing estate planning documents

The Trouble with DIY Estate Planning Documents

There is a plethora of websites that provide legal forms and templates for estate planning. These companies make it very clear that they are not representing you, but only providing the forms and templates needed for estate planning. What you do with those forms after they have been provided to you is your responsibility.

The trouble comes when you have passed away and there is an ambiguity or mistake in your estate planning documents and there is no one to turn to for clarity, or to be made whole for the thousands of dollars your estate and heirs will have lost due to that mistake. Had you hired an attorney to draft your estate planning documents, that attorney would be able to clarify any ambiguity as to your intent and testify in court to make sure that your wishes are carried out, even though there was a mistake in your documents.

The Trouble with Drafting Amendments Yourself

Drafting amendments to your existing estate planning documents on your own may seem like a simple way to save a few hundred dollars. The trouble, however, is that the language that the courts require when dealing with trusts and estates is very specific. If you don’t use the right language when amending your estate planning documents, or if you use language that is vague, what you want to have happen to your estate will be called into question.

What’s more, just because you had the document or amendment notarized does not make it valid. Notaries are simply there to verify the identity of the person signing the document, not the contents of the document. A document can be notarized and still be poorly-worded and/or invalid.

Examples of Problems Caused by DIY Estate Planning

DIY estate planning can cause a lot of trouble for your estate and your heirs. Here are just a few examples:

• Having to prove to a court that a Will was executed with the necessary formalities. State laws regarding the execution of estate planning documents vary greatly. Some DIY estate planning documents may not take this into consideration.
• Giving gifts inappropriately, such as to children or individuals who are receiving government assistance. DIY estate planning kits may also fail to take into consideration how the needs of minor children and special needs individuals must be provided for.
• Increased risk of litigation. DIY documents are one of the leading causes of probate litigation. Probating your estate and distributing your assets to your loved ones could end up taking a lot longer than it would if your Will was executed properly by an experienced attorney. Otherwise, there may be problems within the Will that must be resolved within the probate court.

If you have any other questions regarding estate planning, feel free to contact us at (703) 553-2577 or use the contact form on our website to arrange an appointment with a qualified and experienced estate planning attorney.

The information on this site is for general informational purposes only. The information presented in this site is not legal advice or a legal opinion. You should seek the advice of legal counsel of your choice before acting upon any of the information in this site.