What You Should Know About Do-It-Yourself Estate Planning

The COVID-19 pandemic is sparking an increase in estate planning. People are creating their wills, medical directives, and powers of attorney through one of the many websites that provide legal services because it’s convenient less expensive.

Those websites will not solve your problems if you have a unique situation. Say, children from an earlier marriage or a guardian arrangement for your minor children. These online planning websites do not address extenuating circumstances, which will create big problems after you pass away.

The estate planning process should be a priority but is postponed regularly because people don’t want to think about their own demise. It’s uncomfortable. We also know that there are many common pitfalls within online estate planning programs, such as:

Not legally enforceable if executed improperly
Extenuating circumstances
Little or no legal advice

There are too many times that people complete estate planning documents through one of the estate planning websites, only to find that they are not legally enforceable. We get calls to review these documents. We make sure your needs and goals are addressed correctly. We make sure that the documents are signed and witnessed appropriately. It’s imperative that you have enforceable documents before your death, rather than your estate paying legal fees in court after your death.

Our recommendation is to have an estate planning attorney in your state draw up the documents, then review them to ensure all of your needs are met and your documents are executed properly. Our goal is to make estate planning accessible for everyone. Whether you are a millennial with young children or a retired couple with no prior estate planning experience, estate planning is a great idea.

Discover more about DIY Estate Planning here.

Kevin Miller is ready to help if you have created your estate planning documents online and need a qualified lawyer to review them. a durable power of attorney so your affairs are taken care of in uncertain times. It is important that you make estate planning a priority regardless of your age or amount of assets. Kevin Miller has extensive experience in estate planning and will put your interests first. Contact us or call us at 405-443-5100 if you have questions. We are here to help.

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