New York Estate Planning & Elder Law Blog
Over the years, our law firm has a number of people achieve a variety of estate planning goals. Some of the clients we have helped have tried to use do it yourself estate planning tools, which are widely available online, in an effort to save money and time.
What many people do not understand, however, is that attempting create these important estate planning documents online with do it yourself documents often results in a person facing numerous additional costs.
The Difference Professional and Do It Yourself Documents
For most people who have complex financial or personal issues, there are often issues that were not contemplated by the creators of do it yourself estate planning tools. As a result, while estate planning tools might seem like they could save time, they often are not capable of achieving this goal.
For estate planning tools that result in tax repercussions, there is the good possibility that if a person ends up making a serious enough tax related errors, the Internal Revenue Service will likely become involved.
As a result, it is often a much better idea to obtain the assistance of an experienced estate planning lawyer from the moment you begin to seriously consider estate planning.
The Elements of Successful Estate Planning
One of the fundamentals of successful estate planning is the ability to clearly define a person’s goals. The particular documents that are involved in basic estate planning include wills, trusts, power of attorney for financial matters, and advance healthcare directives. By creating any of these documents with do it yourself forms, there is a possibility that a person will end up creating a document that cannot be enforced by a courts of law.
These risks are outweighed by any benefits offered by do it yourself estate planning tools which includes the ability to realize a person’s goals quickly and affordably. Do it yourself estate planning documents are also counterproductive to successful estate planning if a person has complex family issues or requires specific language to be placed in a document.
A Final Word of Caution about Do It Yourself Documents
It is important to remember that if you do something incorrectly when estate planning is involved, you often will not know that you do anything wrong if you do not consult with someone who is familiar with estate planning. As a result, if you make a critical mistake on a do it yourself estate planning document, you often will not know that you did.
If you do decide to retain the assistance of an experienced estate planning attorney, it is a wise idea to find an attorney who is more experienced than other lawyers in the area in the area of estate planning.
Speak with an Experienced Estate Planning Lawyer
To avoid making additional costs and obstacles for yourself, it is often a wise idea to obtain the assistance of a skilled estate planning attorney from the beginning. Our law firm has helped numerous people navigate the numerous complex issues that arise with successful estate planning. Contact Ettinger Estate Planning today to schedule a free initial consultation.