You may wonder if it is a good or bad idea to create a will using online services. There are a few good reasons but the bad outweighs the good. Let me explain why a consultation for customized and affordable estate planning is better for most people.
What You Get with an Online Will
An online will is a will that you create using an online service. These services provide legal forms and information but not legal advice. It is quick, cheap, and, ostensibly, valid. It names a personal representative who will distribute your assets after your death. You can sit at home in your pajamas and create an online will by filling out personal information in a step-by-step process. For relatively simple estates and simple family situations (no second marriages or step-children) it may work well.
What You Don’t Get with an Online Will
Probate Avoidance
An online will, by itself, will not avoid probate. Probate usually takes 6 months or more in Idaho and a judge supervises the process. The person you name as personal representative probably needs to hire a probate attorney which costs approximately $3,000 – $5,000. It should be noted that a small estate affidavit may bypass probate but that only applies to estates in Idaho less than $100,000 with no real estate.
Assurances You Did It Right
The online services are not law firms. They admit that the online forms they provide are not a substitute for the advice or services of an attorney. How will you ever know if the online will you created conforms to Idaho law unless you speak to an Idaho attorney? You need assurances that you did it right and attorney support costs extra with the online services. Why not just start the whole process with a licensed estate planning attorney?
Formal Signing
A will that you write and sign in your own handwriting, called a holographic will, is valid in Idaho without witnesses. However, if you print and sign an online will in Idaho, it isn’t valid unless you have two witnesses to your signing. Even worse, your online will service might not explain why you really want a self-proving will. A self-proving will allows the probate court to accept the validity of the will without calling your witnesses to court. It needs to be witnessed and notarized. With an online service, you have to arrange the witnessing and notarization yourself.
Updates
As I write this, I remember that five years ago this week my family went into lockdown for COVID. Like COVID, changes happen whether you expect them or not. Unfortunately, you don’t get updates to an online will when you experience changes in your life. Marriage, divorce, births, deaths, moving, home ownership and a whole host of other life changes may require you to update your will. You will need to update or revoke your will and you will need an estate planning attorney if you want it done correctly.
What You Absolutely Don’t Get with an Online Trust
Although we are talking mainly about wills, you may notice that the online will creation services usually offer online trust creation services too. Creating a trust is a complex legal task that must account for your specific situation and state laws. Revocable living trusts may avoid probate if they are properly funded. One of the most glaring shortcomings of online trust creation services is that they don’t fund the trust you create. An unfunded trust is pointless and useless and will not avoid probate. Unfunded trusts waste your time and money.
Estate Planning Attorneys Offer Advantages
Lawyers, like me, who specialize in estate planning can explain the advantages they offer over online services. Many estate planning attorneys, like me, offer free initial consultations so you don’t have to pay to find out if they can help you or not. Personalized legal attention to the unique circumstances of your life is worth paying for because your life is important. Isn’t your future worth more than a standardized template you find on the internet? I hope you think so, and I hope you will contact me to schedule an appointment.