Hiring an Attorney is Safer than Using Online Estate Planning Services
Nearly everyone makes an estate plan at some point in their life. Many people end up update their plans after major life events, like marriage, divorce, and children. To capitalize on this near-universal need, dozens of online services have sprung up in recent years that provide documents to write your own wills, trusts, and other estate planning documents for a much cheaper price than going to an attorney. While using these services may sound like a good choice to create an estate plan at a low cost, the old saying “you get what you pay for” rings true.
These services typically operate on a business model of providing customers with template documents to fill in on their own. To these services’ credit, they can provide templates for many kinds of documents, both the normal documents (wills, trusts, powers of attorney, etc.), and state-specific documents. However, understanding what templates you need to purchase is up to you. Outside of some preliminary guidance based on your assets, these services simply provide the templates. Customers are frequently on their own for how to complete the se documents and for how to make them legally binding.
If a customer has an exceptionally simple estate plan, such as passing all their assets to the same person, naming one person to be their power of attorney, and maybe naming a personal healthcare representative, then using an online service may be adequate. However, the risk of a do-it-yourself will being challenged in probate court is very high. Do-it-yourself wills frequently do not account for all of a person’s assets or foresee potential complications like their children getting divorced or predeceasing them. Once a will is challenged, it is too late for the person who wrote it to clarify their wishes. The result is often expensive probate litigation and strife among family members and loved ones.
Contrast this with hiring a trust & estates attorney. An attorney will have a conversation with you to understand your specific estate, including your assets, goals, and possible complications. An attorney who understands your situation can create personalized documents that express your wishes and do not have ambiguities if foreseeable complications arise. Attorneys are also well-versed in executing the various documents you may need, ensuring that your wishes are made legally effective.
The bottom line is that while hiring an attorney to create your estate plan may seem expensive and burdensome now, it is very likely that this decision will save your loved ones money, time, and heartache later on.
Written by Tyler Conrad under the supervision of Jon Rogers. Tyler was a 2026 Summer Associate at May Oberfell Lorber, LLP and is going into his third year at Michigan State University School of Law. Jon Rogers is a partner at May Oberfell Lorber, LLP.
This article is for information purposes only and is not intended to constitute legal advice.
