DIY Law - Estate Planning

Fixing and making things, what tools to get and what skills to learn, ...
Post Reply
The Old Man
Posts: 503
Joined: Sat Jun 30, 2012 5:55 pm

DIY Law - Estate Planning

Post by The Old Man »

Some years ago with the help of Nolo Press/Quicken I created some estate planning documents: (1) Last Will and Testament, (2) Revocable Living Trust, (3) Health Care Directive, and (4) Durable Power of Attorney (Financial). The documents were created with software. The accompanying book was very helpful in understanding the considerations involved and selecting the right approach for my situation. While I am comfortable with the estate planning documents I am however left with the nagging feeling that I am in over my head and have made some gross errors. The law is not my field.

How should one make the determination that the available books/software are sufficient for one’s basic situation? What criteria should be used when making the decision to see an estate planning attorney rather than a DIY approach? If it makes a difference the country is the USA.

User avatar
Sclass
Posts: 2791
Joined: Tue Jul 10, 2012 5:15 pm
Location: Orange County, CA

Re: DIY Law - Estate Planning

Post by Sclass »

I went through the same process with a package offered by Suze Orman and pbs.org during a pledge drive. At the end of the process she says take the papers into an real live lawyer for a check. The idea being the check of the documentation should be cheap compared to asking one to do it from scratch.

Post Reply