Attorney Myers: I just did a will using a web site and it was cheaper than if I had hired an attorney. Why not?
This reminds me of a news story from a few years ago. Instead of hiring an electrician, a fellow wired up the underwater lights of his own swimming pool. When the do-it-your-self handyman jumped in, he was electrocuted.
I've checked out some web sites and software. One site asked some of the same questions that an attorney would ask. But, I had questions that weren't answered. Another site gave few options for the trust that I would set up for the grandkids if I died before they were adults. The trust would simply sprinkle out payments at designated times until they achieved a certain age, regardless of purpose, for example, limiting it to education only.
There's little clarification outside the task of writing a will. For example, they don't do a good job of explaining the difference between a guardian and a trustee. The best options in your circle of friends and family may or may not be the same people.
Information is out there if you look. But, the programs and the sites generally tend to click you through a one-size-fits-all process. A good attorney will gear their approach to individual concerns of the clients and the needs they express.
The computer approach also ignores other relevant issues. For example there are ways for money and property to pass outside of a will. Beneficiary designations, joint interests and trusts are examples. I ask people who come to my office to do a will if they've checked the beneficiary statements of their life insurance, 401K and other documents. Sometimes these things were set up so long ago that there may be a new spouse in the picture, yet beneficiary designations weren't changed. This is simple advice. It takes little time. But, I don't see it in the computer forms.
Your will should be self proving, meaning the court will allow it without having to actually find the will's witnesses and bring them to court. Each state has its own statutory form. I'm not convinced the websites or programs provide the simple formalities that are absolutely required.
Under some scenarios, a trust is a good option for passing along what you have. If you sit down at the computer to do a will, you have blinders on to that and other alternatives. And doing a trust on the do-it-yourself plan would be like that guy with a scalpel in his hand in the TV commercial talking to his doctor about where to make the first incision. I have seen trusts of anywhere from one page to 200 pages, depending on an individual's needs and what they want to do.
Using a website or program, you're just filling out an electronic form, going down one path, without the benefit of the 'big picture'. Often, questions arise as to living wills, powers of attorney and other things. What is the difference between these forms? If you have one, do you need the other? Again, if you look, the answers are out there. But, if you just start filling out forms, they may or may not be what you need.
Two of the nastiest law suits I've ever seen were will contests. They dragged on at length. People on all sides paid dearly in time and money. In one, I was one of two attorneys representing one client's interests. The other attorney was a probate expert. I was the litigation guy.
Why risk it to save a few bucks now?
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This column originally appeared in the Derry News. © 2009.