Can I DIY my estate plan?

The do-it-yourself craze has reached beyond home improvement projects and is now an option for creating an estate plan. A DIY, fill-in-the-blanks option for a will, trust, or power of attorney can seem appealing, but is it a good idea?

If you do not know how to get started with an estate plan, a do-it-yourself product may seem like a good place to start. But is it wise to DIY your estate plan?

It depends. While a DIY estate plan is better than having no plan at all, the potential pitfalls of preparing your own estate plan are numerous and significant.

If the only way you will prepare an estate plan is to do it yourself, it is likely that the guidance provided to your loved ones will be better than if you had nothing prepared. But, if you consider the difference between a DIY plan and one prepared by a qualified professional, specifically with your family and goals in mind, the additional cost upfront is almost always worth it. Further, when you consider the potential issues that could arise from an improperly prepared do-it-yourself plan, the cost of a professionally prepared plan, with an attorney to guide you through the process, is of even greater value.

Certainly, a DIY product will be less expensive than a custom estate plan created by an attorney. However, look carefully at what you will get for the quoted price. Many fill-in-the-blank services quote a price for a single document such as a will, but most estate planning attorneys will create a complete estate plan including a trust and/or will, health care power of attorney, durable power of attorney for property and a beneficiary deed. The cost of the DIY product may not seem like such a bargain if you consider all of the documents you would need in order to have a complete estate plan.

But, by far the biggest short coming of a do-it-yourself plan is that you are doing it all by yourself. Sitting in front of a computer screen, you will be asked to answer numerous questions and make key choices about how your plan will work. Answering those questions and making those choices without a professional to help you make sure you know what they mean and what choices are best for your family can be dangerous and result in unintended consequences, such as excluding loved ones you intended to exclude, leaving inheritance to people you may not have wanted to include, or failing to provide guidance for how your loved ones will inherit your assets.

An experienced estate planner can help you determine what approach is best for your family and identify issues you may not have considered, such as how will your plan impact family relationships after you’re gone or are you setting up a plan that is likely to cause issues if unexpected circumstances arise. DIY products are always careful to specify that they are not substitutes for guidance from an attorney. Though all the do-it-yourself products provide some type of disclaimer, one of the most well-known DIY estate planning products tells its customers: “We are not a law firm or a substitute for an attorney or law firm. We cannot provide any kind of advice, explanation, opinion, or recommendation about possible legal rights, remedies, defenses, options, selection of forms or strategies.”

With a professional to guide you through creating your plan, you can be sure you have a complete plan that covers all of your needs, understand how your plan works, and know what your next steps are to get your trust funded or your beneficiaries established. In short, a DIY plan may be better than no plan at all, but the potential pitfalls are not likely to be worth the risk for most families.