Creating an estate plan that works for you can be extremely beneficial. Not only will you have peace of mind that your final wishes will be honored, but your family will also be offered a sense of stability. A final will and testament typically plays a key role in a sound estate plan, thus, it is important to get it right.
Often, people may be put off by the costs of having an expert draft a will. Consequently, they may opt to write a will on their own. Nevertheless, writing your own will can actually be counterproductive and could end up costing you more in the long run. Outlined below are some key reasons why writing your own will may be a bad idea.
Online wills are not the answer
There are numerous online templates out there for almost every form of legal document, including wills. Nevertheless, the language used as well as regulations contained in wills can be very state-specific. Consequently, your will may not be enforceable in your given location. Professionals generally spend many years getting up to speed in how to create effective estate planning documents. A cut-and-paste approach from the internet is likely to do you more harm than good.
Circumstances change
Drafting a will can be a very challenging process. Even if you do manage to complete such a task once, it is not likely that you’ll relish the prospect of doing it again. Estate planning is not a one-time-only undertaking. Your final wishes are likely to adjust as life changes, and your estate plan should be able to reflect this. Important events such as births, deaths, new relationships and marriages will greatly impact how you want your assets to be distributed in the event that you become incapacitated. Without specialized knowledge, it is highly likely that such changes will be overlooked in a will.
A will is just one fundamental component of a sound estate plan. When considering what to do with your assets in the future, you should also have a firm understanding of your legal rights.