Dangers of Do-It-Yourself Estate Planning

The idea of DIY estate planning sounds great at first. You get to save money and prepare your estate plan at your convenience. There are plenty of websites that claim to offer customized, do-it-yourself estate planning documents that you can easily modify. But despite their convenience, DIY estate planning comes with a lot of issues and can create serious legal problems in the future.

Close-up of a dark green law book spine labeled

It’s More Complicated Than You Think

There’s really no single document referred to as an estate plan. Rather, it is a collection of documents that explains what should happen to your assets after you die. Many of these documents are difficult to figure out for someone who isn’t a professional and there’s a chance you’ll miss out on something. Also, many estate planning documents vary from state to state.

May Not Cover Properties Acquired After the Will Was Made

After preparing a will using a generic DIY estate planning tool online, you may inherit additional properties and assets. If there is no residual clause in your will and it isn’t adjusted to account for these assets, commonwealth law will determine how and to who the residual properties are distributed.

Living trust and estate planning document with a gavel, pen, and notebook on a wooden desk.
Couple shaking hands over a contract, smiling.

May Not Follow Full Legal Guidelines

A legal document that you prepare still has to follow some basic legal guidelines and formalities. If it doesn’t follow these requirements, your bank or other financial institutions may refuse to transfer the assets to beneficiaries in the will. Your family may have to prove to a court that the legal document prepared by you is real and binding.

May Not Cover Properties Acquired After the Will Was Made

After preparing a will using a generic DIY estate planning tool online, you may inherit additional properties and assets. If there is no residual clause in your will and it isn’t adjusted to account for these assets, commonwealth law will determine how and to who the residual properties are distributed.

A lawyer pointing at document, discussing with client over a wooden table with gavel and notebook.

Having an estate plan ensures that your wishes regarding your assets are fully followed after your death. While the idea of doing it yourself may seem like a good one, estate planning can be quite complex and the consequences of mistakes can be quite serious. Even lawyers who practice in other aspects of law usually hire an estate planning attorney to assist them with creating estate plans for their clients. Hence, finding a Williamsburg estate planning lawyer to assist you with preparing the documents is the recommended approach instead of trying to do it yourself. Call now to speak to a Zaremba Center for Estate Planning & Elder Law attorneys.


The idea of DIY estate planning sounds great at first. You get to save money and prepare your estate plan at your convenience. There are plenty of websites that claim to offer customized, do-it-yourself estate planning documents that you can easily modify. But despite their convenience, DIY estate planning comes with a lot of issues and can create serious legal problems in the future.

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