One Size Does Not Fit All

One of the great attributes of “Americans” is our “can do” spirit. We accept challenges and give it the “old college try” as we try to figure things out for ourselves. Sure we can ask for help, but we want to see if we can do it on our own first.

Reality TV Meets Real Life

We love watching those reality television shows about fixing up old homes. It strikes such a resonant chord with viewers and advertisers alike. We all want to see the finished product, and we expect it to be bigger and better that anything before. Who cannot wait to see the happy homeowners as they tour their remodeled home? These home shows give us the confidence and the knowledge to try things for ourselves, like re-tiling the kitchen floor or putting together a bookshelf.

Leave DIY to Home Improvements

While this Do-It-Yourself (DIY) approach may work in many situations, like home improvements, there are other situations best left to experts. Sure, you jump online and learn about hip replacement surgery or vacationing in Switzerland, but you probably should not do your own hip replacement surgery or pilot an airliner to Geneva unless you are specifically trained and qualified to do so. So it is with estate planning. It can be hazardous to you, your loved ones and your wealth to DIY your own estate plan.

Penny Wise and Dollar Foolish

If you DIY your estate plan, there is no 24-hour service your family can call when a mistake is discovered. There is no on-call tradesman who can bail them out if you missed something in your will or trust after you die. Botched estate planning documents cannot be fixed by making a call or watching a video. Once you pass away there are no “will make-overs” or “trust emergencies.” Your family and loved ones will be stuck with whatever you have written.

Costly Consequences

If there are any problems with your DIY estate plan, likely a probate judge will decide how it will play out and it is rarely what you would have wanted. Here are just a few of the mistakes DIY estate planners make when trying to create their own estate plans without the counsel of an experienced estate planning attorney.

  • Failure to list out assets and online accounts and passwords;
  • Failure to identify the location of estate planning documents;
  • Failure to designate a guardian for minor children;
  • Failure to designate the recipients of family heirlooms;
  • Failure to update the estate plan with life changes, like a child’s birth or divorce;
  • Failure to properly designate beneficiaries for retirement, insurance and other financial accounts;
  • Failure to designate secondary beneficiaries;
  • Failure to designate an alternative trustee or executor;
  • Failure to properly “fund” trusts with assets while living or by beneficiary designations at death, and last, but certainly not least,
  • NO ESTATE PLAN!

So, for your benefit and that of your loved ones, do not DIY your estate plan.

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