With the continued growth of the internet over the past several years, a number of services offering do-it-yourself legal documents have popped up. However, Investor's Business Daily says while they may work for some people, those with more complex estate planning arrangements may put themselves in trouble by using these firms.
The main advantage of most of these sites is cost. Experts told the news source that those who use generic documents run the risk that something they need won't be included. That situation will only give traders a false sense of security and could end up costing their estate more money in the long run.
In addition, others say there may be issues if the generic language of the forms isn't specific enough to a certain situation. Some analysts said that those with more assets may find that the DIY route is insufficient.
"If your estate is larger than the estate-tax exclusion amount [$5 million this year and next], you may need help from an attorney," tax expert Mary Randolph told the paper. She added those concerned with estate tax planning may prefer specialized planning. "The more you need to discuss tax strategy, the less likely that do-it-yourself will be enough."
The source said among various other reasons experts cited as to why estate planning may be best left to professionals is if people divorce and remarry, have any ongoing needs for dependents or need to distinguish carefully between business and personal assets.
No comments:
Post a Comment