Getting Legal Documents Signed During COVID
Wills, trusts, health care directives, powers of attorney, and legal guardian nominations are on many of our hearts and minds as COVID-19 compels us to face our own fragility and mortality.
It’s not as if we don’t understand that we will all die (or become incapacitated) one day, but within our current reality, that “one day” has become an ever more real possibility. And one way to feel more in control over what’s happening out there is to make sure we all have our legal affairs in order. That way, if “one day” happens sooner than later, our families aren’t left with a big mess to clean up while they are grieving.
If you are trying to get your financial house in order, you may just be putting some basic documents in place. You may even be thinking about doing it yourself. If that’s the case, it’s very important for you to know and understand the true cost of a failed estate plan. You should understand that you may be setting your family up for a 1-2 year court process (called Probate). The cost of a failed estate plan could not only result in significant fees for your family (sometimes 10x the cost of working with an estate planning attorney to put a proper estate plan in place now), but it could also lead to significant family conflict which can have a devastating impact on your loved ones.
There are many ways for DIY estate planning to go wrong. One simple way to guarantee that your plan will not work is not ensuring the proper execution of your documents. If your documents are not properly signed, they will not work—period. And if your documents aren’t enforceable, your family could be stuck in court or conflict – the exact thing you want to avoid by handling your estate planning now. You want to make sure your estate plan will work when the time comes that your family needs it. To work means that you need to make sure your legal documents are not only signed, but signed in the right way. Some legal documents require two witnesses, and some require notarization. Some states have allowed remote (digital) notarization, others still require “wet” signatures. In addition to basic failures in execution, there are many other ways that things can go wrong with DIY planning.
I understand you likely have a desire to get documents in place now and that everyone wants to save money where they can. If you are one of those folks that is thinking about taking the DIY approach, join me on an upcoming webinar where I will address some of the key pain points in DIY planning as well as walk you through the impact of a failed plan. If you want to make sure that you have a customized estate plan that will work for your family, work with an experienced estate planning attorney. Contact me to find out more.