You would not step off a cliff, unless you were sure of how far the drop to the bottom was. However, individuals do this every day with do-it-yourself estate planning gimmicks, which is similar to taking a leap of faith, not knowing whether or not a net will appear. The DIY approach is wonderful for many things. But DIY estate planning poses significant risks to you, your family, and your assets. In fact, Consumer Reports tested three DIY estate planning software packages and found that they were inadequate for anything except the simplest of wills. Getting help from a knowledgeable estate planning lawyer is the only way to ensure that you safeguard yourself and your family against future negative possibilities.
Over the next several days, I will post a series of risks associated with DIY estate plans (and even estate planning accomplished by someone other than an attorney, such as a financial planner or insurance representative). Frankly, a knowledgeable estate planning lawyer is the only way to ensure that you safeguard yourself and your family against future contingencies. I am an experienced estate planning attorney who has helped many clients create a sound estate plan that addresses all the client’s goals, needs, and wishes.
To start your estate planning today, contact [email protected] to set up a free consultation.
Risks of DIY Estate Planning: Making A Leap of Faith Without a Net
Risk #1: Your estate planning documents are not valid in Maryland.
All legal documents have specific requirements that must be met for the document to be valid under Maryland law. Estate planning documents are not an exception. Each document must satisfy certain statutory requirements. If an estate planning document, such as a last will and testament, durable power of attorney, advanced directive, or trust, does not meet the necessary standards, a court may declare it invalid. In that case, your wishes may not be recognized, and your estate could end up being distributed under the Maryland laws of intestate, rather than in accordance with your DIY estate plan. Your intended beneficiaries may end up with nothing or considerably less than you planned.
If you attempt to make a do-it-yourself estate plan, any mistakes, issues, or problems are not likely to be discovered until after your death or incapacity, when it’s too late to fix them. The relatively small amount of time and money you might save by the DIY approach will likely pale in comparison to the amount of time and cost your estate may incur to address the deficiencies in your document. That means your beneficiaries or heirs ultimately receive less of your legacy.
To start your estate planning today, contact [email protected] to set up a free consultation.
Risks of DIY Estate Planning: Making A Leap of Faith Without a Net
Risk #2. Your documents do not accomplish your estate planning goals.
A significant risk of DIY estate planning is ending up with documents that do not address your estate planning goals, do not accomplish what you think they do, or simply are not appropriate for your circumstances. When a lawyer helps you create an estate plan, identifying your goals is a critical part of the estate planning process.
After you establish your goals, your lawyer helps you structure your estate plan to accomplish them. Without professional assistance, you may not even realize what your estate planning goals are or should be. Importantly, estate planning attorneys are trained to meet this need. Your financial planner or insurance representatives may have your best interests in mind, but unless they are licensed attorneys, their practice of law without a license may be problematic for your estate and your heirs in the long run. Check out this great article explaining the roles and possible interactions between the estate planning attorney and the financial planner.
Risks of DIY Estate Planning: Making A Leap of Faith Without a Net
Risk #2. Your documents do not accomplish your estate planning goals (continued).
Examples of estate planning goals include:
• Making sure your family receives the maximum benefit from your financial legacy
• Planning for long-term care, including Medicaid
• Addressing special family situations, such as financially irresponsible beneficiaries or taking care of a family member with special needs
• Minimizing taxes for the estate and for beneficiaries, including gift tax planning
• Ensuring a smooth transition for your business interests to family members or others
• Maintaining the privacy of your financial information
• Designating people, you trust to make decisions for you in the event you become incapacitated temporarily or permanently
• Minimizing the costs and time for estate administration
• Avoiding family disagreements over your estate
• Avoiding probate of your estate
Risks of DIY Estate Planning: Making A Leap of Faith Without a Net
Risk #2. Your documents do not accomplish your estate planning goals (continued).
Your estate plan should consider all your personal and financial circumstances and goals. Getting help from a Maryland estate planning lawyer is the only way to ensure that this happens.
Here is an informative article out of Maryland providing a glimpse at the risks involved with DIY estate planning. The bottom line is that you aren’t expected to know what you don’t know. An estate planning lawyer can help walk you through the various nuances of your specific situation.
Georg Zeevering of Pennsylvania thought he would save attorney’s fees by writing a DIY estate plan. The result was a messy multi-year court battle that cost far more in the long run than an estate planning attorney would have charged.
Don’t do to your family as Jane and George did after you are gone. To start your estate planning today, contact [email protected] to set up a free consultation.
Risks of DIY Estate Planning: Making A Leap of Faith Without a Net
Risk #3. Your estate plan is incomplete.
Even if you identify some of your goals, you may not identify the appropriate estate planning documents that are necessary to accomplish those goals in an estate plan. Individual legal documents have specific purposes. Using estate planning documents properly requires legal guidance from an attorney, not just a financial planner or insurance representative.
A thorough, complete estate plan addresses a wide range of future expected and unexpected contingencies. An estate planning lawyer is trained to identify all your estate planning needs and create a plan that covers all the potential issues. Your lawyer tailors each document to your individual circumstances that addresses your specific needs and wishes.
Online services and forms simply cannot identify all your estate planning needs by having you complete a questionnaire with nothing else. Your estate planning lawyer talks with you at length about your circumstances and wishes. You provide substantial information before your lawyer identifies the appropriate structure for your estate plan. A “one size fits all” approach can be dangerous. Your attorney discusses all your documents at length and explains what each one accomplishes before you even sign the documents. An incomplete (or inappropriate) DIY estate plan significantly raises the risk of a court deciding how to distribute your estate. Court involvement costs money and takes a lot of time. If a court decides how to distribute your estate, your intended beneficiaries could end up with much less than you expect (or possibly nothing at all), and they may receive their inheritance much later than if you got help from a lawyer in setting up your estate plan.
Risks of DIY Estate Planning: Making A Leap of Faith Without a Net
Risk #3. Your estate plan is incomplete (continued).
A cautionary tale out of the State of Florida highlights the risks in using DIY estate planning software. On March 27, 2014, the Florida Supreme Court issued an opinion in the case of Aldrich v. Basile, which concerned the Last Will and Testament of Ann Aldrich, which she drafted using an “E-Z Legal Form.” The Supreme Court of Florida opined that the costs associated with this challenge would have been far less expensive had Ms. Aldrich simply hired an estate planning lawyer to establish her estate planning needs.
To start your estate planning today, contact [email protected] to set up a free consultation.