It’s been more than 20 years since the expanding range of cable television channels launched the Do It Yourself (DIY) revolution. I can only imagine home many sledgehammers, plumber’s wrenches, and even backhoes have been sold. My guess is that there are some people who have the aptitude to do household DIY projects well but there may be more who have some regret, not to mention a stack of no-longer-used tools.
I know of some people who have taken the DIY approach to legal matters as well. There is no shortage of commercials promoting the ease and savings that allegedly come with bypassing a law firm and creating your own legal documents. While the upfront financial cost is far less than buying tools to build an addition on your home, the long-term cost could be far greater.
I’ll admit that when an attorney drafts a will, trust, or other estate planning document we start with a template as much of the language is the same in all cases. The key word in that last sentence is “much”. If you don’t know the differences and nuances, the template you used will most likely not be valid when it comes time to enact your wishes. Knowing which template to use is the first step. A good attorney or law firm will spend years and years developing and revising those templates; and even then, laws change so whatever we had developed needs to be revised again.
When you install a cabinet at home, your spouse or friends might compliment you on the work, even if a hinge is crooked or there is a small gap between sections. But when you go before a judge to administer an estate, they aren’t looking to applaud you for the effort. There are laws and statutes that must be upheld and if your documents don’t meet the prevailing legal standard, they are invalid.
Understanding the options for drafting and the customization is critical to getting the work done right. It’s also important to know which laws that govern estate plan elements vary from state to state. The folks selling you templates on late night TV aren’t offering you documents based on which state you live in. Further, once documents are completed, there are processes which follow, such as funding an estate, that must occur or even the best-written plan is of little value.
I know some of you just like to do things and to get your hands dirty doing work. Trust me, when you do an estate plan with Navigant Law, there is plenty you do yourself – we have a homework packet you need to complete before we get together and after signature we give you guidance for implementation. This ensures that the documents used not only meet your intentions, but are complete, accurate, and enforceable.
When it comes to estate planning, we suggest you abandon DIY and embrace DIR – Do It Right.