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DIY Wills and Trusts
- Kuyateh Law Group
- Mar 15, 2022
- 3 min read
Anyone can buy a piano and set it up nicely in their home. But only a trained musician will be able to detect the flaws in the keys, pedals, or strings. Unless you're an expert, you can't really know if it will play the music it should play. Choosing a "document drafting" service to prepare your estate planning documents is similar. There are blind spots these document drafting service companies can't protect you from. Sure, you can click your way through and print out a fancy looking document to file away for less than what your monthly cell phone bill costs, BUT unless you're a trained estate planning attorney, you can't really know if that document will work when you want it to. How you want it to. Uh oh. Estate planning is unlike any other area of law because death is FINAL. There's no appeal. No second trial. No re-submissions or amendments. Nothing to help you fix the mistakes in your broken estate plan when you're gone. A poorly drafted estate plan can often create MORE problems than it can solve. Broken estate plans lead to fires your family will have to put out at the cost of costly attorney fees, loss of time, loss of sleep and family disputes that often leave long lasting damage to relationships. Watch this video. Here are just some of the blind spots document drafting services simply cannot protect you from: 1. Blended family considerations.
With blended families comes step-children, other parents, prior relationships, and more. When you're trying to plan for your children from another relationship, older children, and the children you have together, it can get complicated quickly. Complexities that are not able to be resolved without properly considering all the different scenarios which document drafting services just cannot do. No matter how good their AI is, it can not replace a legally trained mind.
2. Generational wealth protections and tax planning.
Similarly, document drafting services are simply not equipped to handle multi-generational trust designations to protect generational wealth. They also cannot account for the tax implications to your loved ones and strategize the best way to have them avoid paying unnecessary taxes burdens.
3. Proper retitling of your assets.
One main reasons these document drafting services are so affordable is because you get what you pay for. Meaning you pay for an AI to spit out a document. They don't walk you through property funding your estate plan by retitling your deeds and assets. If done improperly, it can have devastating consequences. Not to mention wipe out the whole point of building an estate plan. It may be possible to get their help to do it but be warned and prepared as it will most likely not be for free.
4. Special needs, mental health, and substance abuse protections.
Not every family is the same. So cookie cutter planning fails those families with special needs, mental health, or substance abuse issues that can have impactful consequences when inheritances are distributed. Without a lawyer to write special provisions within the will to protect your assets and loved ones from these life's storms, your estate is vulnerable.
5. Keeping up with life changes.
Lastly and probably most importantly, you can't have a relationship with a document drafting website. Nothing replaces the peace of mind knowing you and your family have a trusted lawyer who meets regularly with you to make sure your documents are updated and ready to work how you need them to at a moment's notice. Life happens. And your estate plan needs to be current at all times. Our firm provides free charge yearly reviews with our clients as part of our client maintenance program.
As a wealth preservation attorney, I'm always encouraging my clients to reduce expenses and save money. But THIS is an area none of us can afford to mess up. The costs can be devastating. To take my free stress test to see where you're current plan falls, click here. Let's make sure your current plan is not broken so it can work when you need it to.
Here to serve,
Ivette Kuyateh
Founder & Managing Partner
Kuyateh Law Group
P: (619) 535-0066
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