With so many online resources, it’s easy to take the do-it-yourself route when it comes to estate planning. But using online estate planning services can be one of the biggest mistakes you’ll ever make. They can’t provide you with legal advice. And they can’t get to know your family and individual needs to help you decide on the best estate plan.
Personalized legal advice can help you avoid any number of estate planning blunders that can make life difficult for your spouse, children or heirs. Online tools aren’t so great at figuring out what works best for your individual circumstances. They also aren’t good at helping you figure out how to handle some of the more complex aspects of estate planning, such as making making multiple beneficiary designations or retitling your assets correctly so that they are controlled by your trust.
Online resources aren’t great at helping parents make sure a special needs child will be cared for. They also aren’t very useful for helping you pass on your values, minimize taxes, make sure you have enough life insurance, provide for an adult child with financial problems or (whew!) any number of important steps in estate planning. Do-it-yourself is a great way to save money in many aspects of your life, but it doesn’t work very well in estate planning!