Estate Planning & Elder Law Blog Banner

Estate Planning & Elder Law Blog

Dangers of DIY Estate Planning Emails
Posted by:

Elderly Man on LaptopOver the past decade, there has been a rise in demand for Alternative Legal Service Providers (ALSPs). ALSPs are companies that provide legal services apart from the conventional paradigm of legal services and systems. They ultimately use legal technology in order to provide more efficient services in a faster span of time and with a drastically cheaper fee.

You may have at one point seen a subject line pop up in your inbox similar to: "Protect your loved ones with an affordable estate plan", "25% off your estate plan" or "Tell us about yourself and we will match you with the right plan". While these offers from businesses such as banks, credit unions, financial planners, etc. that offer affordable "online" DIY estate planning options may appear to meet your needs on the surface, the dangers behind these "DIY Estate Plans" can have long-term consequences. In some cases, they are not put together by law firms.

There is no such thing as a "One Size Fits All" estate plan. Depending on the client's situation, it can be a complicated process that should be handled by a legal professional that understands the client's particular needs and family dynamics.

By trying to save money to have a DIY estate plan put together easily and inexpensively by one of these businesses, unintended problems may surface in the future. This may result in greater expense to correct the mistakes, requiring retaining an attorney or other advisor to assure damage is avoided by these “junk” estate plans.

With the pandemic still raging, these types of email offers are only growing as ALSPs target the fears and anxieties of older adults that are perhaps still sheltering in place away from friends and family.

Adults that are 50 and over are more commonly targeted by these types of estate planning emails than younger generations because they typically have more assets and are in a stage of life that requires more planning.

It is important to understand your legal needs and the potential dangers of trying to go the "easier" route. To learn more, visit this article on The Dangers of DIY Estate Planning: https://smartasset.​com/taxes/the-dangers-of-diy-estate-planning

If you have further questions, contact a member of our Estate Planning or Elder Law team.

Authors

Categories

Recent Posts

Jump to Page

Foster Swift Collins & Smith PC Cookie Preference Center

Your Privacy

When you visit our website, we use cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences, or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. For more information about how we use Cookies, please see our Privacy Policy.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Always Active

Necessary cookies enable core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility. These cookies may only be disabled by changing your browser settings, but this may affect how the website functions.

Functional Cookies

Always Active

Some functions of the site require remembering user choices, for example your cookie preference, or keyword search highlighting. These do not store any personal information.

Form Submissions

Always Active

When submitting your data, for example on a contact form or event registration, a cookie might be used to monitor the state of your submission across pages.

Performance Cookies

Performance cookies help us improve our website by collecting and reporting information on its usage. We access and process information from these cookies at an aggregate level.

Powered by Firmseek