Should You Use an Online Will Service for Your Estate Planning?

For a small amount of money, you can have a last will and testament, and other estate planning documents, created for you by an online will service.  Some of these are drafted by real practicing attorneys, and some of the documents are of reasonable quality.  But there are very important reasons why this is usually not the best choice.  Here are the top three:

1. The documents are only as good as the information you provide, which is only as good as the questions you are asked.  We have not found any online questionnaire that compares to a live conversation with an estate planning professional who can make specific recommendations to you based on your family situation and goals.
2. The online process still leaves it on you to make sure your documents are properly executed, witnessed and notarized.  There are different execution requirements for different estate planning documents, and it is easy to get it wrong.
3. If you miss something in these documents, or do not follow all of the formal requirements, it will be too late to fix it when you are gone.

If you need to put something together in a hurry, say right before you leave for a trip, these programs may be an option, but you should make sure as soon as possible thereafter to sit down with an estate planning attorney and make sure you have the plan in place that does what you want for your family.


Learn more here about the legal and financial risks of online wills.

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