An interesting discussion came across the Estate Planning Listserv of which I am a member this past week. A fellow North Carolina attorney was assisting with an estate administration (probate) where the Will was prepared using standard LegalZoom fill-in-the-blank forms. I’ve ranted about LegalZoom (and similar websites like RocketLawyer) before, and find the need to do so again.
More than once in my five or so years of practice, I have encountered someone who used one of these “self help” websites to prepare legal documentation for themselves. 99% of the time, the documents they prepared were incorrect as to form, woefully lacking in terms of substance, and at times, failed to even adhere to North Carolina laws for such documents.
In the case of the fellow NC attorney, the decedent (i.e., deceased person) prepared their own Will and Trust document on LegalZoom, using LegalZoom’s self help forms. When it came time to probate the Will, the clerk of court found the Will to be indecipherable to the point where she was unwilling to admit the Will for probate. The Will was not only vague as to the dispositions of the decedent’s intent, but it also attempted to create a trust instrument that is not recognized under either North Carolina probate law or the NC Uniform Trust Code. In short, the Will that the decedent probably paid less than $100 for wasn’t worth the paper it was printed on. In order to probate the Will, the attorney needed to obtain a declaratory judgment from the Superior Court, determining exactly where the Will disposed of various property and possessions.
That doesn’t sound so bad, right? Well, had the decedent paid a little bit more up front, it would have saved quite a bit of time and money for the estate, the attorney, and the beneficiaries/heirs of the decedent. It costs money to pay an attorney to mop up the mess (likely considerably more than it would have cost to pay an attorney to prepare the proper documents correctly in the first place). Plus, it extends the process for probate (which, if you have ever been an executor or administrator for an estate, you know is tedious and time consuming even when it goes smoothly).
You get what you pay for, and if you’re only paying $100 or less for a document that purports to direct the disposition of all of your property after your death, it would behoove you to question the “person” you’re paying to provide that document to you for such a low price. In the long run, paying a little bit more up front to have a North Carolina-licensed attorney prepare the document(s) for you may save your estate and loved ones considerable time and money in the long run.
Most people meet with their attorney, have estate planning documents drafted (wills, powers of attorney, livings wills, etc.), sign those documents into effect and then tend to consider their estate plan “done”, ceasing to think about it any further. At a bare minimum, you should always review your estate plan with your attorney and financial advisor upon either a major life occurrence (marriages, births, deaths, divorces) or once every five years.
Major Life Occurrences
A major life occurrence is obvious- marriages, births, deaths and divorces all significantly alter who your beneficiaries or heirs may be. You may have your (now) ex-wife listed as your Executrix of your will or your healthcare agent under your healthcare power of attorney. What happens if your ex-wife, who does not think too highly of you, is the one that gets to decide whether or not the plug is pulled? If you revisit your estate plan upon a major life occurrence, you can make the changes necessary to adequately handle your updated circumstances. If you did not have children when you first executed a will, but now you have one or more kids, it is a good idea to revisit your will to make sure that all of your estate is handled as you want it to be, including providing for your children’s collegiate funds, health and general welfare.
Another significant life change is the drastic increase of your financial assets. If your estate plan was very basic, intended just to handle your wishes without any tax planning, it will not help to save you tax dollars later on if your financial situation changes significantly. To address this type of issue, you can change your estate plan to include tax planning, to help save money for your estate (and your beneficiaries) after you pass.
Retirement
If you are nearing retirement, it is a good idea to revisit your estate plan and make sure that it is set up to adequately handle your retirement. When you retire, you cease “adding” to your estate and begin to instead take “income” from your retirement accounts and other assets you have accumulated. This change can drastically impact your estate plan.
Health Changes
Long-term medical care is extremely expensive. If you, or someone in your family, requires long-term medical care (or you think they might in the future), you can alter your estate plan to include special provisions to address this type of situation.
Five Year Rule
Even if you do not encounter any of the changes above, or do not anticipate any of these changes, it is still a good idea to revisit your estate plan with your attorney and financial advisor once every five years. Tax laws change, portfolio values and assets change, and your future goals (charitable giving, etc.) may change. You can update your estate plan to handle these changes.
The above situations are only a sampling of some changes that should encourage you to revisit your estate plan. If you think you may need to revisit your estate plan, please contact your attorney and financial advisor, who can review your estate plan and help make appropriate recommendations and changes for you.
Over the past decade, the prevalence of “self-help legal services” has increased exponentially on the Internet through websites such as Legal Zoom, Rocket Lawyer, and NOLO. These websites offer a number of legal documents, including wills and trusts, documents to incorporate, and real estate documents, which are filled in by the purchaser through a series of basic questions. None of these documents, after being prepared automatically based on the consumer’s answers to basic questions, is ever reviewed or approved by an attorney. The consumer is simply filling in the blanks of a form document.
The problem with this scenario in the arena of estate planning is that every estate plan is going to be unique. Self-help fill-able forms will not take into account any of the unique circumstances of a given estate plan, nor does any self-help offer any legal advice as to what may be in the consumer’s best interest. If the consumer is dead set on using a self-help legal service website, he or she should take the time to read the fine print on these websites. For instance, Legal Zoom’s disclaimer contains the following: “We are not a law firm or a substitute for an attorney or law firm. We cannot provide any kind of advice, explanation, opinion, or recommendation about possible legal rights, remedies, defenses, options, selection of forms or strategies.” Yet, despite the fine print, many consumers believe that any document purchased from a website such as Legal Zoom will be legally sufficient and fulfill all of that consumer’s goals and plans. Many would be surprised to find out that their legal documents, albeit cheaper than hiring an actual attorney, may fail to achieve anything that the consumer purchased those legal documents for. A consumer will find a similar outcome using these websites for other purposes, such as preparing deeds, incorporating a business, and filing trademark registrations.
Recently, Consumer Reports used each of the three self-help legal services websites above to create four legal forms: a will, a car bill of sale for a seller, a home lease for a small landlord, and a promissory note. Each of these forms was then evaluated by three law professors in a blind test. The verdict from the law professors:
Using any of the three services is generally better than drafting the documents yourself without legal training or not having them at all. But unless your needs are simple — say, you want to leave your entire estate to your spouse — none of the will-writing products is likely to entirely meet your needs. And in some cases, the other documents aren’t specific enough or contain language that could lead to “an unintended result.”
In short, if a consumer truly wants to be certain that his or her legal documents are legally sufficient to achieve all of that consumer’s goals, the consumer should consult an attorney, who will be able to ask all of the questions necessary to fully understand that consumer’s unique circumstances.
For more information on the Consumer Reports study, please visit: http://www.lawsitesblog.com/2012/09/self-help-legal-sites-no-match-for-real-lawyer-consumer-reports-says.html
Burger Legal, PLLC is prepared to assist clients with their unique circumstances and to make recommendations based on those unique circumstances. If you need a will or trust, to incorporate a business, or to prepare a deed, lease or promissory note, please contact Burger Legal, PLLC at 336.705.1016 or info@burgerlegal.com, and the firm will be happy to assist you in achieving all of your unique goals.
