Why Doing Your Documents Online Is A Terrible Idea

Have You Packed a Parachute?

If you had never jumped out of plane and knew nothing about packing a parachute, and you were given the option of 1) having a professional instructor who has packed thousands of parachutes correctly, and none incorrectly, pack your parachute for you after paying them a fee or 2) you pack your own parachute for free and hope for the best, which one would you choose?

The same analogy holds true for drafting a will or completing your estate plan. Our Colorado will and trust lawyers have prepared thousands of estate planning documents. We know how to avoid pitfalls most people don’t even know exist, and we guarantee that our plans will meet your goals. Want to know more, schedule a free consultation today!

The Pitfalls of Drafting Your Own Estate Plan Or Creating A Trust Online

There are many reasons that creating plans online or doing them yourself are not the best idea. Here are a few:

• If you mess anything up in your documents, you won’t know until it’s too late (you’ll be dead and won’t be able to fix the mess)
• You will have no one to direct your questions to except the internet (and the internet is always right)
• It will still cost you money, but if anything goes wrong it will end up costing your family tens of thousands of dollars more in the long run. Not to mention loads of time and stress.
• You could lose your house if it is deeded improperly or to children.
• Most at-home or online plans do not avoid the court process called probate, which is costly and time consuming.
• Online plans and do-it-yourself plans often do not meet your actual goals but just try to fit you into an existing box.

If I Write It Down, Why Do I Need Anything Else?

You would think that the law simply requires following whatever your will says to do, right? Wrong. The state has many laws surrounding estate planning and wills that make it much more complicated than that. They have even conveniently written themselves into your plan already. This means that there is potential, if your plan is done incorrectly or not at all, that the state will inherit your stuff.

Further, a will is the most worthless estate planning document. Let me explain why. Most people want a will to keep their family out of court and get their things where they want them to go. However, a will is just an instruction sheet for the probate court process. So, if we are using your will, that means we are in probate. That also means your family is paying the state, judges, and the court tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees and court costs to administer your estate. Can we avoid this result? Yes. Our lawyers at Althaus Law have the estate planning tools to make you the hero and protect your family while keeping everyone out of the courtroom.

There Are Many Options And Many Misconceptions!

There are quite literally hundreds of different estate planning documents and paths you can take with those documents when creating a plan to protect your family and your assets. When you do things online or by yourself, you have no resource to speak with to guide you down the right path. You also have no way of knowing the pitfalls that lie ahead or how to properly avoid them. At our firm, we have been to court and seen what happens when things go wrong. Our attorneys know how to avoid problems that can arise that could ruin your well thought out plans.

Online Document Farms Legally Can’t Send You Valid Documents

Most estate planning documents have to be notarized and sometimes even witnessed to be valid. When you order documents online, they legally can’t do this step for you. Also, the notary and witnesses must be specific people who are not related to you. Therefore, when people do things themselves or order them online, they might as well have lit their money on fire because the documents are legally not valid and absolutely no good. So why do them online you ask? Great question! Don’t.

Want Some Real Answers Regarding Wills and Trusts In Colorado

Give our attorneys at Althaus Law a holler. You can schedule an appointment for free right now by clicking here, or you can call us at (720) 513-2299. We’re here to answer your questions, and pack your estate planning parachute so you can be confident knowing it will open when you need it to.