We all look for ways to save money and still get the most we can.  In recent years, many people have looked into the use of online legal forms.  In fact, in today’s digital world one can easily find so called providers of do-it-yourself legal services for bankruptcy, business formation, contracts, divorce, real estate, wills and other areas of law.  However, there can be many risks associated with creating legal documents without an attorney who has taken the time to learn about your specific goals and needs.

One simple mistake can cost your estate and beneficiaries many times more than the cost of an experienced estate planning attorney.  Consider this: you are taking the steps to create legal documents in order to ensure the protection of your loved ones.  Imagine the devastating tragedy if you loved ones were not protected as you intended due to a faulty legal document.  It happens more often than you may think.  Many online legal forms are not enforceable because they are not legally valid.  This can have dramatic consequences to the assets you thought you were leaving your beneficiaries.

Online legal form providers are primarily interested in the sale of the forms to a large audience.  Any interests in your legal needs are secondary at best.  In fact, these forms are overly broad and generalized by design, in order to appeal to a large, national customer base.  These forms do not take into account the specific estate planning laws of each state, which can vary greatly.  More importantly, these online legal forms providers do not keep current with the changes of estate planning law since these providers are not actually working in the estate planning law field.

An experienced estate planning attorney will take the time to learn about your specific goals and needs.  Only then, can the estate planning legal documents be created.  A customized estate planning plan ensures the use of all appropriate legal documents as well as the proper administration of the trust.