We buy everything else online — shoes, cars, groceries, even a Chia Pet Gremlin. Why not make your will online? Seems like a good idea, but here are three reasons why it is NOT!
1. Validity
You probably are not a lawyer, so you are not trained in spotting issues in legal documents. Details you might not even realize are important may completely change the meaning or validity of your will.
Take the case of Ron Ferree from New Jersey. Ron used a form will with a ‘fill in the blank’ layout, leaving everything to his friend, Charles. But Ron did not have the will witnessed correctly.
After he died, Charles had to sue Ron’s family to try to get his inheritance. So, everyone had the pleasure of spend tens of thousands of dollars on Ron’s cost-saving attempt. In the end, the document was declared invalid and the family received his money, rather than Charles.
Do you know the legal requirements to make a will valid? We do, so let us help you and take the worry and risk out of the equation!
2. Accuracy
Sometimes it helps to have a second set of eyes check things over. We’ve seen wills that say, “I leave my assets in equal shares to my three kids, Tom and Sue.” It’s a bummer to be the third kid that mom left out of your will.
Or, “I give two hundred thousand dollars ($200.000) to the American Cancer Society.” Is that a gift of $200,000? Or just $200? I smell a lawsuit coming.
3. Liability
Speaking of lawsuits, it is incredibly difficult to fix the damage of a poorly done online will. It’s made worse because usually no one notices the problem until after you are gone.
If you hire a licensed and insured attorney to prepare your estate plan and that attorney screws up, there’s recourse in the form of malpractice insurance. If you use a DIY will service, your survivors generally have no protection and are left to foot the bill for any damages caused.
Fun fact: LegalZoom usually will not pay you anything if a court decides your LegalZoom document is invalid, even if LegalZoom screwed it up! Per their Terms of Service, LegalZoom isn’t your attorney and you are supposed to read your documents and understand the impact of the language contained in them.
Sometimes having a poorly-made will is worse than no will at all. The good news is, we can help make sure you get an estate plan in place that meets your needs and is valid. Get it done today and enjoy the peace of mind that comes with knowing everything is set, ready, and correct — just in case!
