Why Your Online Will is Not Enough to Protect You and Your Family
By: Christian Kramer
Online will templates are advertised as the complete and affordable way to protect your family and property when you pass, but there is a lot that these one-size-fits-all wills leave out.
Your life isn’t fill-in-the-blank
Estate planning is an important and responsible step for anyone to take. It can ensure that you are comfortable during your life, and that your family is cared for when you pass on. Whether you are a single young adult, a parent, or a grandparent, you have people in your life who you care for and who depend on you. These are the people who will have to continue in life without your emotional and/or financial support after you are gone.
The importance of estate planning is universal, but you are unique. When you use an online tool to plan your estate, you are simply filling in the blanks of a what is called a “boilerplate will.” Boilerplate wills cover the most basic parts of estate planning, but do not consider those things that are important to you. Relying on a boilerplate will is like relying on a bathing suit to keep you warm in the winter. Sure, the bathing suit will cover the essentials, but it is not designed to protect everything in your season of life.
Instead of relying on a tool that automatically generates a boilerplate will, you and your family deserve an estate plan customized with you in mind.
Put yourself in the driver’s seat
Online wills leave out essential elements of the estate planning process, and take away your power to protect yourself and your loved ones after your death. In order to create a complete and effective estate plan, you need a professional attorney.
Powers of Attorney
The very first thing you should know is that online wills do not allow you to appoint powers of attorney. A power of attorney is a person who is appointed to take care of either your financial or medical interests if you are unable to yourself. Appointing a power of attorney is an essential element of estate planning, because it allows you to choose someone you trust to make important decisions about your life. Although choosing a power of attorney is essential, it is not included in the free will templates you can find online. Attorneys like Katherine Kim can help you learn about essential estate planning tools, such as powers of attorney, that ensure that you are taken care of during your life and after death.
Custom Provisions
Because online will generators are developed to be “one size fits all,” they cannot give you advise or customize your estate plan to fit you. Working with an attorney on your estate plan can give you access to customized advise on issues that you might not even realize are important to you.
When you meet with an attorney to write your will, you will be choosing an executor of your will. An executor is the person who, after you pass, will carry out the terms of your will and make sure your property is passed on to your chosen descendants. Online wills do not tell you who the best person to serve as your executor is. By contrast, an attorney will have experience in writing wills and working with executors. She can advise you on the type of people who are successful executors, and offer creative suggestions on executor arrangements that will work best for your property, assets, and loved ones.
Another element of estate planning that online wills do not address is what happens to your physical body after you pass. Whether it be burial, cremation, or donating your body to science, many people have strong feelings about how they want their remains to be treated. The best way to ensure that your body is treated according to your wishes is to leave clear, specific instructions in your will. Online wills do not include what will happen to your remains in their boilerplate language. Instead of leaving the treatment of your remains up to chance, an attorney can make sure that your wishes are made clear in your will.
Finally, online tools will not tell you that you can pass certain property to friends and family outside of your will. However, most attorneys are familiar with techniques that allow you to legally leave gifts to friends and family outside of your will. These are often referred to as “non-testamentary arrangements,” and can provide unique benefits for your survivors.
Faster delivery of your property to your loved ones after your death
Lower probate expenses
Protection against creditors
Enhanced confidentiality
When you choose to work with a real attorney who cares about your needs and desires, you are able to explore many more potential options when developing the content of your estate plan.
Plan for the unexpected
No one likes to think about the day when they cannot be there for the people they love. However, when that day comes, you want to make sure that you made every effort to take care of the people you care about. When you settle for a fill-in-the-blank online will, you are placing your descendants at an immediate disadvantage. Not only have you missed out on some key estate planning elements, but your life between writing the will and passing away might have changed so much that your online will doesn’t cover the property you own at your time of death. If your will no longer applies when you pass, you will have no say in who receives what, and your family might not be taken care of the way they should be.
At Katherine Kim Law, PLLC you can customize an estate plan that makes the most of your current assets, while considering what might happen in future seasons of your life. Not only will attorney Katherine Kim advise you on powers of attorney, executors, or non-testamentary gifts, but she can suggest even more provisions that will protect your property and loved ones after you pass. For more information, please call 214 814-5123. You deserve to have the peace of mind that comes with a complete estate plan. Don't wait to plan for the unexpected.