DIY Estate Planning

Why Do People Use Lawyers To Prepare Their Wills?

June 6, 2011

“Why do people use lawyers to prepare their wills?” a client asked me a couple of weeks ago. “I don’t have a lot of stuff and I was wondering whether I could buy the forms at Office Depot.” It’s a valid question. After all, Office Depot sells will preparation software for $69.95, less than the [...]

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LegalZoom vs. Lawyer: What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You

May 24, 2010

LegalZoom and other do-it-yourself document preparation services want you to believe that the process of preparing a will is as easy as filling in the blanks on standardized forms. They try to lure you with a cheap product and a process that takes less than half an hour to complete. They try to assure you [...]

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Do-It-Yourself Estate Planning Mistake Disinherits Child

April 14, 2010

My daughter recently brought a book home from school titled “Separate Ways.” It’s a story about a husband and wife who are having marital difficulties, and their two children who are dealing with anxiety caused by the conflict. In the book, the parents eventually decide to divorce but reassure their children that the divorce will [...]

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The Problem With LegalZoom (Part 2) – Inaccuracies Corrected But Problem Remains

February 12, 2010

A couple of weeks ago, I published a blog post entitled The Problem With LegalZoom (And Other Do-It-Yourself Estate Planning Solutions) which highlighted some of the pitfalls of relying on do-it-yourself document preparations services. The article piqued a lot of interest and two weeks later, it is still one of the most popular posts on [...]

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The Problem with LegalZoom (And Other Do-It-Yourself Estate Planning Solutions)

January 27, 2010

LegalZoom advertises itself as a cheaper alternative to an attorney. And many forgo professional advice because they are lured by the lower costs and believe the document LegalZoom creates will be just as effective as one created by an attorney. Having heard so much about LegalZoom, I recently visited its website. At first glance, the [...]

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Planning Your Estate? Don’t Be Penny Wise And Pound Foolish

January 11, 2010

Comparison Shopping: For Yogurt? Good. For Estate Planning? Not So Much. One of my favorite stores is Costco. I try to purchase as much as possible there because it saves money on all sorts of things. The best thing about Costco is that I am able to compare the price of the products I buy [...]

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