• 22
  • July
    2010

Any Florida estate planning attorney is bound to tell you that you are far better off using an experienced attorney to help you with your estate plan than trying to do it yourself. Are attorneys just trying to preserve their own business when they say this? What are the dangers involved in putting together your own estate plan? This post will look at these dangers.

Just about the only person who does not need a professionally prepared estate plan is a single person with no children and virtually no money. If that describes you, then you might be able to get away with no estate plan or a do-it-yourself plan. At the very least, the risks are minimal.

Most people don't fall into this category, though. At some point in most people's lives, they acquire money or children or both. If you are very wealthy...

have complicated business interests, or a complex family with children and ex-spouses, then do-it-yourself probably doesn't appeal. You KNOW you need help sorting it out.

So, we're usually talking about the people in between: they have some assets, but not a lot. They are the ones most tempted to put together their own plan.

People without estate planning experience might not understand the effects of the terms they put in their own estate plan. The plan could have unintended effects. For instance, you could end up giving someone more power than you intend through a "power of attorney." If your appointee is not trustworthy, they could steal from you.

Without the help of a lawyer, there might be holes in your plan to transfer money to your heirs. The plan might not properly take into account being pre-deceased by children, divorce, or the births of new children.

A third problem is the complicated issue of estate taxes. There is no estate tax in 2010, but there probably will be in 2011. This is a difficult contingency to deal with. Even attorneys have to give a lot of attention to it.

So, what CAN you do to save yourself some money on estate planning? The best thing to do is to read up on estate planning issues before meeting with a Florida estate planning attorney. That way, you will save time expressing your wishes to your attorney and absorbing their advice. If the attorney is charging by the hour, time saved is money saved.