Online Wills in Massachusetts
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If you do a google search about wills and estate planning, the top of the page is likely crowded by offers for low-cost online wills. These are especially popular in the current coronavirus era of social distancing and stay at home orders. You may be thinking about your estate plan, but now is not the time to make an appointment to visit with a lawyer.
The price is certainly right- many of the most popular services offer a basic will for a single person for less than $100. The convenience is also attractive- you can fill out the form and either download and print the documents for signing or, with most services, have them mailed to you in hard copy. So what is the catch, and how can you tell whether this is the right choice for you and your family? We sampled a number of the leading online will services to better understand what they do and do not offer. Our conclusions are below. |
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What the Online Wills Do and Do Not Offer
The online wills that we reviewed provided the following:
- A questionnaire that populated a template will that allowed you to pick a personal representative, designate beneficiaries for your assets, and designate a guardian for your children.
- Signature blocks that were customized for your state.
- Health care proxy and power of attorney (some for additional cost) that allowed you to select the individual(s) and populated a template.
- The ability to either download final documents or have mailed to you after payment.
- In some cases, the ability to go back and edit after processing payment and requesting final documents.
- Specific instructions about how to execute the will with witnesses in order for it to be legally valid in Massachusetts.
- Advice or feedback about Massachusetts estate taxes. This was even true in one application where we deliberately selected "over $1 million" in assets, which is the Massachusetts threshold. In fact, this was the only platform that we sampled that even asked about our estimated net worth.
- Advice or feedback about setting up a trust for minor children.
- In the case where the interview responses suggested a revocable trust, any instruction or guidance about how to put property into the trust or advice about what kind of trust would best suit our needs.
- The opportunity to input identifying information (beyond first and last names) for beneficiaries, personal representatives, or guardians for minor children.
- Questions about other issues that could affect the choice of the right estate planning documents, including citizenship status of family members, whether there is a family member with special needs, anticipated need for assisted living, or blended family issues.
Why the Limitations of an Online Will Matter
The things an online will provides may be enough for you. Here is what you should consider about the limitations of this option in order to make an informed decision.
Instructions About Execution
The online wills do provide accurate signature blocks that call for the correct number of witnesses, and a notary acknowledgment to make it a "self-proving" will. What they do not do is explain exactly what you have to do and why. If you do not get this right, your will may not be considered valid. Worse, your family will only ever know that there is a problem with your will after you are gone and can no longer fix it.
If you use an online will, make sure that you have two adult witnesses who are not named as beneficiaries in your will. They should be physically present in the room when you sign the will and sign the witness statements immediately.
A notary public acknowledgment is not legally required to make your will valid, but it does allow your heirs to prove your will without calling the witnesses to provide testimony. If you need to get a will signed quickly and cannot access a notary, you can get by with only the witnesses. When the crisis passes, you may still want to re-sign the papers with a notary to save your heirs time and money in the future.
Advice About Massachusetts Estate Taxes
Many people assume that estate taxes are something only the rich need to be concerned about. The truth is in Massachusetts that if all of your combined assets- including things like life insurance proceeds, the equity in your home, a retirement savings- equal or exceed $1 million your estate may owe tens of thousands of dollars in estate taxes.
To put this in perspective, if your estate is worth $1,000,001.00, you will pay taxes on the entire amount, approximately $36,000. If your estate is worth $999,999, you will owe no estate taxes at all.
If you have any doubt about your taxable net worth, it is important to consult with an estate planning attorney before finalizing your documents.
Advice About Trusts
The online services do provide an option to create a revocable trust if you select it, usually for an additional fee. What they fail to provide is full information about the different kinds of trusts, and under what circumstances different trusts might be right for your family.
For example, if the sole aim of the trust is to direct disposition of real property, you might want a simple realty trust.
If you are looking for a way to hold and direct assets so that your children receive their share and there is someone to manage it if they are still young, the type of revocable family trust available in the online option might be right for you. There is no opportunity, however, to make individualized choices in your online document about how you would like the assets managed or distributed.
Finally, you should know that a revocable trust does not help protect your assets from the costs of long term care or taxes. This is because if it is "revocable" it means you can change your mind and either change the trust or take assets out of trust. A revocable trust can be an important piece of your estate plan, but it is important to understand its limitations.
Other Special Circumstances
Perhaps the biggest drawback of an online estate planning program is the inability to engage in a dialogue with an experienced estate attorney about your specific family circumstances and needs.
For example, if anyone in your family is not a United States citizen, there are different estate tax rules and certain additional things you will need to do with your documents to accomplish your goals.
If you have a child or other family member with special needs, you should be discussing ways to provide for them without jeopardizing their entitlement to federal or state benefits.
If you are 60 years old or older and have assets that you want to preserve, you should discuss an asset protection trust with an estate planning attorney to see if you can shelter those assets from the costs of long term care.
Instructions About Execution
The online wills do provide accurate signature blocks that call for the correct number of witnesses, and a notary acknowledgment to make it a "self-proving" will. What they do not do is explain exactly what you have to do and why. If you do not get this right, your will may not be considered valid. Worse, your family will only ever know that there is a problem with your will after you are gone and can no longer fix it.
If you use an online will, make sure that you have two adult witnesses who are not named as beneficiaries in your will. They should be physically present in the room when you sign the will and sign the witness statements immediately.
A notary public acknowledgment is not legally required to make your will valid, but it does allow your heirs to prove your will without calling the witnesses to provide testimony. If you need to get a will signed quickly and cannot access a notary, you can get by with only the witnesses. When the crisis passes, you may still want to re-sign the papers with a notary to save your heirs time and money in the future.
Advice About Massachusetts Estate Taxes
Many people assume that estate taxes are something only the rich need to be concerned about. The truth is in Massachusetts that if all of your combined assets- including things like life insurance proceeds, the equity in your home, a retirement savings- equal or exceed $1 million your estate may owe tens of thousands of dollars in estate taxes.
To put this in perspective, if your estate is worth $1,000,001.00, you will pay taxes on the entire amount, approximately $36,000. If your estate is worth $999,999, you will owe no estate taxes at all.
If you have any doubt about your taxable net worth, it is important to consult with an estate planning attorney before finalizing your documents.
Advice About Trusts
The online services do provide an option to create a revocable trust if you select it, usually for an additional fee. What they fail to provide is full information about the different kinds of trusts, and under what circumstances different trusts might be right for your family.
For example, if the sole aim of the trust is to direct disposition of real property, you might want a simple realty trust.
If you are looking for a way to hold and direct assets so that your children receive their share and there is someone to manage it if they are still young, the type of revocable family trust available in the online option might be right for you. There is no opportunity, however, to make individualized choices in your online document about how you would like the assets managed or distributed.
Finally, you should know that a revocable trust does not help protect your assets from the costs of long term care or taxes. This is because if it is "revocable" it means you can change your mind and either change the trust or take assets out of trust. A revocable trust can be an important piece of your estate plan, but it is important to understand its limitations.
Other Special Circumstances
Perhaps the biggest drawback of an online estate planning program is the inability to engage in a dialogue with an experienced estate attorney about your specific family circumstances and needs.
For example, if anyone in your family is not a United States citizen, there are different estate tax rules and certain additional things you will need to do with your documents to accomplish your goals.
If you have a child or other family member with special needs, you should be discussing ways to provide for them without jeopardizing their entitlement to federal or state benefits.
If you are 60 years old or older and have assets that you want to preserve, you should discuss an asset protection trust with an estate planning attorney to see if you can shelter those assets from the costs of long term care.
What is the Alternative to an Online Will?
At slnlaw, we are already used to conducting the initial consult and follow up discussions with clients via telephone or video conference. We can provide you drafts electronically, and go through them with you by video.
As to actually signing your final documents, the law still requires that you have in person witnesses to your signature, and it is best practice to have important documents also attested to by a notary public. Even this does not necessarily require that you visit a lawyer's office. If you have nearby friends or neighbors who can witness your signature, there are mobile notaries who for a modest fee will come to you to notarize your signature.
With all that said, hosting the signing in our offices and providing the witnesses is all part of our estate planning service, which we will happily do for no additional charge.
As to actually signing your final documents, the law still requires that you have in person witnesses to your signature, and it is best practice to have important documents also attested to by a notary public. Even this does not necessarily require that you visit a lawyer's office. If you have nearby friends or neighbors who can witness your signature, there are mobile notaries who for a modest fee will come to you to notarize your signature.
With all that said, hosting the signing in our offices and providing the witnesses is all part of our estate planning service, which we will happily do for no additional charge.
How Our Estate Planning Lawyers Can Help
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We are ready to help. We understand this can be a difficult issue to tackle, so we have designed our process to make it as easy as possible for you to get the plan in place that protects you and your family and accomplishes your goals. You can use the button below to schedule a free information call, or simply give us a call at 781-784-2322.
