Should You Make Your Own Will?

What is a DIY (do it yourself) Will and how is it different from a Will prepared with an Estate Planning Attorney? Clients sometimes come in and ask, can I just do a will myself, can I do something like this? A napkin where I write out what my intentions are and then sign it, isn’t that good enough? Well it’s not. There are other options and of course I’m making a little bit of a joke.

There are some people that have actually said that to me, but I’ve also had others say I find that there are will kits in the office supply store, there are online wills, can I do something like that? Why do I have to pay you to do a will for me? And I have answers to many different aspects of that, but I’ll keep it brief and I also will have other do it yourself answers to questions about other types of legal work that people consider doing themselves. So this will be part of a series of probably 3-4 videos. So please consider watching those also.

Getting back to Wills when I meet with a client or a couple, we often spend upwards of an hour talking about different things involved; their family structure, their assets, their liabilities, their wishes and intentions for what would happen with their estate and all of that goes into their Will. Wills are not one size fits all documents and not well suited to do it yourself work. The other important reason is the way Will is executed. It is very important if you want to make sure that your will cannot be contested later on. Improper execution is a reason for the court to reject your Will from probate immediately. If that happens, then everything defaults to what the law says will happen with your estate. If you don’t want that to happen, you really should consult myself or another attorney and spend the time and the effort and yes, the money to do it properly. You have a lot at stake, if you want to make sure that your assets go to one person or another and perhaps be eliminated from going to someone, then hire an attorney to do this. Save the DIY work for home and auto repairs.

A Will is an important thing and NOT something to do yourself. If you’d like to learn more, I invite you to view our YouTube channel to see my other YouTube videos and also view our Estate Planning page for more information. If you’d like a complimentary consultation, please call us or email and we’ll be happy to set up an appointment.