5 Reasons Why You Should Hire an Attorney for Estate Planning
March 8, 2017
With the advent of various do-it-yourself websites (such as Rocket Lawyer or Legal Zoom), people often wonder why they should pay an attorney rather than do it themselves through a website. Hiring an attorney for estate planning is often more beneficial than using a do-it-yourself option. In the long run, you will save time, frustration, and money.1. The difference in price isn’t as much as you’d think. There is an assumed fallacy that all do-it-yourself Will websites are less expensive than meeting with an attorney. A basic plan through an attorney (at least here in Minnesota) is not going to be that much higher in price (less than $100) especially once you add various documents that are needed for a complete estate plan. Most importantly, you have created a relationship with a real live attorney who can explain various aspects of the documents that aren’t immediately apparent. You’ve also made a contact for future questions.
2. It can be overwhelming to fill it out yourself. Prior to my initial meetings with estate planning clients, I have them fill out a questionnaire. The vast majority of the time large sections are left blank because: it was too overwhelming, they had questions about the sections, they weren’t sure who to nominate, or some combination. An attorney is there to guide you through the process to make it less overwhelming, to answer the questions and guide decision making. Which takes us to number 3.
3. An attorney can counsel you on who would make a good PR, Guardian, or Trustee. As estate planning attorneys, we know from experience what qualities make a good Personal Representative (PR) or Guardian or Trustee. We can help you narrow down your choices, or change your mind from your Aunt Mildred to your Cousin Frances. This insight can not only be helpful to the person creating the estate plan (you) but also the person carrying out the tasks (now Cousin Frances). Why not play into people’s strengths rather than create anxiety or cause harm in the future when an improper Trustee is chosen?
4. Your attorney probably also practices Probate. Probate is the process of administrating an estate after someone has died. This is valuable to you not only because of number 3 (above), but because it makes the attorney a better drafter of your documents. Ever wonder why your Will is 8 pages or 22 pages? It’s because our experience tells us that’s what’s needed in your situation. Doing Probates makes us better at drafting documents because we see what works and what doesn’t work when we actually need to use those documents.
5. Your attorney can offer you helpful insights. A real, live attorney working in the state you live can offer you practical information that websites can’t compete with (or at least can’t compete at the same level). Your attorney can offer you information on tax consequences based on your choices – or guide you to use documents that reduce or eliminate taxes on your estate. Your attorney can provide information about where to keep your Will. Your attorney will make sure your Will is executed properly (to allow for an easier and less expensive Probate process). Your attorney will give you helpful information about title to assets and how to reduce the chance of even having to go through the Probate process. A website cannot provide you with the same level of care.
If you have questions about how create or update your estate plan, please call Claire Tralle at 612-787-2553 for an initial consultation.
1 Comments
Sorry, comments for this entry are closed at this time.
I like that you said that by hiring an estate planning lawyer, you can be sure that your will is going to be executed properly to avoid the probate process. My husband and I wanted to have our estate plans drafted as soon as possible. What we want is to have peace of mind that all our last wishes are going to be taken into consideration because we don’t want our children to have problems with our assets. Thanks!