If you do not yet have at least a basic Last Will and Testament in place, there is no time like the present to execute one. When you do decide to create your Will, you may wonder if you need an estate planning attorney to assist you. An Oklahoma City estate planning attorney at Parman & Easterday explains why you do not want to try and create a Will without the help of an attorney.
Why Do I Need an Attorney to Create a Will?
You have undoubtedly been bombarded with advertisements on the internet for DIY legal forms. They make it sound so easy to create your Will without the assistance of an experienced estate planning attorney. Just fill in the blanks and sign your name. In the long run, however, taking that route may cost you and your loved ones far more than you saved by foregoing the assistance of an attorney. Common problems you may unwittingly create by producing a Will without the help of an estate planning attorney include:
- Usinga form with out of date language or law.Most DIY Last Will and Testament forms have been floating around the internetfor years. Applicable laws may have changed in the interim, making some of thelanguage in the form, or the entire form, stale from a legal standpoint. If the language used in the form is out ofdate it will almost certainly prompt litigation.
- Causinga failed interaction between documents.Using a DIY Will is problematic by itself; however, most people don’t stopthere. Your estate planning documents must work in harmony with each other. Themore DIY legal forms you try and use together, the higher the odds are thatthey will result in failure because you need experienced legal advice toaccomplish this.
- Notdistributing your entire estate. One of the primary reasons for executing aWill is to avoid the state’s intestate succession laws. If any assets are leftout of your Will, however, an intestate estate proceeding will have to beinitiated. Unfortunately, the language in many DIY Wills does just that –results in assets being left out, triggering the state’s intestate successionlaws.
- Creatinga Will that is not state specific.Many of the laws that govern wills and estates are state laws. For this reason,a Last Will and Testament must be state specific to ensure it will be valid.Many DIY forms, however, are generic and do not include state specific languageand/or laws.
- Failingto execute the Will properly. For a Will to be valid, it must beexecuted using the proper procedures. Those procedures vary from one state tothe next. A generic DIY Will form won’t explain how you need to execute thedocument to comply with your state’s laws.
To avoid all of thesepotential problems, be sure to consult with an experienced estate planningattorney when you are ready to create your Last Will and Testament.
Contact an Oklahoma City Estate Planning Attorney
For additional information, please join us for an upcoming FREE seminar. If you have questions or concerns about estate planning, or you are ready to get started creating your Last Will and Testament, contact an experienced Oklahoma City estate planning attorney at Parman & Easterday by calling 405-843-6100 to schedule your appointment today.
The size or value of your estate does not determine the need for a Will. Having a Will in place ensures that the assets you do own are distributed according to your wishes.
If you are the parent of a minor child, executing a Will offers another important benefit. Your Will is the only opportunity you have to nominate a Guardian for your child if one is ever needed.
During your working years, most estate planning attorneys recommend that you review your Will every three to five years; however, certain life events, such as marriage, relocation, and death of a fiduciary, call for a more immediate review.
Since founding Parman & Easterday in 1985, Larry has led over 1,000 free, community-service education programs and helped more than 10,000 Oklahoma families go from putting off their estate plan to getting it done. His goal for every client is the same: to become the person their family calls "the one who took care of everything."
Larry is the author of three books: The Straight Shooter's Guide to Estate Planning; Estate Planning Basics; and Guiding Those Left Behind in Oklahoma. He served as Oklahoma's Secretary of State and Secretary of Commerce, and his firm is the only member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys in the state.
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