Well, you can. But if you do, please be sure your family has the name and contact information for an attorney who can help them when things go wrong. That’s sort of a joke, but also it’s not. Here are a few reasons why it’s better to retain an attorney — not just use a program, an “estate planning specialist,” or other alternative.

1. Short term vs. long term costs: Yes, the cheaper option usually seems appealing. But at what cost? I recently was hired to help administer a trust that had been created online. It required us to file paperwork with the court and notify beneficiaries in many different countries. These were two costs that could have been avoided had the person talked to an attorney. Because the court was involved, the process took longer and parts of the trust became public record — something the person had been trying to avoid. So yes, he saved a few bucks up front; but it cost his family time and money after he was gone - much to everyone’s frustration.

2. Simple vs. Complicated: How complicated can it be? Everything to my spouse, then to my kids. But what aren’t you thinking about? Attorneys are trained professionals. We know to ask questions that you wouldn’t think of — and we know to ask questions that an online program isn’t going to know to ask. So you may think it’s simple, but we get to think through all the unthinkable things — and we draft accordingly. Some things that appear simple maybe shouldn’t be. It all depends. You don’t know what you don’t know!

3. Follow Up & Team: I know to follow up with clients to make sure that they have put their assets in the name of the trust; they know they can call me if they have a question. You know who doesn’t do that? An online system. Also: are they telling you the right thing? For example, one online provider suggested in the documents that by listing all their assets, those assets were automatically assigned to the trust. This is not true. And this required more work, more court, more costs to fix it all later.

4. Updates. If you do a document online and you need to update it, the documents are not necessarily going to build on one another or make the updates as usable as possible. Do you even know if you have to update the documents? Going back to #3, you can call me and ask. You can’t call an 800 number and find out if your circumstances require an update.

If you’d like to schedule a complimentary consultation, contact me! But if cost right now — and only now — is your sole consideration, keep my information handy for your family.