A common question amongst people is “Can I write my own will?” or “Do I really need a lawyer to do my estate planning?” The answer to this question is no; however, writing your own estate plan can be a complicated thing, one that an inexperienced person will have a very hard time doing it.
In this article, we are going to give you the reasons why you should hire a lawyer for your estate plan.
1. You, Will, Need More Than Just The Will
Many people think that a Will and an Estate Plan are the same things. Well, they could be more wrong because an Estate Plan is a legal document that prepares you for your death, while a Will is a legal document part of the Estate Plan. One thing that these two have in common is that they are extremely important legal documents.
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2. Saves You Money, Time, and Energy
Writing your own estate plan will be more time consuming than what you might think. It will have to turn your attention from the more important things in life like family or work. Hiring a lawyer to write your estate plan will cost you but it will cost you more if you decide to do it on your own. Hiring a lawyer for your estate plan will save you time because it is his job to do it. He knows how to do it and knows the ins and outs of it.
3. It is More Complicated Than What You Might Think
If you don’t fully understand what you’re doing, estate planning can be the sort of stuff that makes you go crazy. Every phase counts and every word counts, in fact, everything you write counts and can be used in a different way if one really chooses to.
Not to mention that the law itself is changing all the time, and key agencies like the federal government, the IRS, and courts are changing the laws all the time. It’s the lawyer’s job to know about these changes, and it takes a full-time job to keep track of all the laws and rules that are being changed.
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4. You Only Have One Chance
If you do finish your own estate plan and you do realize that it sucks, you can go ahead and hire a lawyer to do it for you. But think of how much time, energy, and resources you’ve spent on making it. You only have one chance of making a good estate plan. And by hiring a good lawyer you will make good use of that one shot.
5. Objectivity
Another extra thing that lawyers bring to the table, besides expertise, is objectivity. A lawyer can give you a clean, unbiased view of your current situation and give you a fair and honest assessment of what you should do. You can’t leave everything you have to one of your three children. That would be unfair and will result in them fighting with each other their whole life. By drafting an unfair estate plan, you could single-handedly ruin your entire family relations.
