E273 DIY Will vs Lawyers for Solo Agers

<div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="eoknk" data-offset-key="cb1tt-0-0"> <div class= "public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="cb1tt-0-0"> <p>Our solo ager clients often ask “who should draft my will? Should I do it myself or hire a lawyer?”</p> <h2>Default: hire a reputable estate planning lawyer</h2> <p><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-42474" src= "https://anthonyspark.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Default-a-reputable-estate-planning-lawyer-300x169.jpg" alt="Default- a reputable estate planning lawyer" width="300" height="169" /></p> <p>The benefit is that you will have peace of mind that your will is done correctly, as opposed to using a computer program. Software is pretty good, but a human (in this case, an experienced attorney) will spot problems that a DIY will can miss.</p> <p>A drawback is that hiring an experienced attorney can be costly, especially compared to using computer software.</p> <p>Make sure to find any attorney who specializes in estate planning, not the guy who does DUIs and wills only on the side. (No offense to either subset of the profession, but these are just completely different skillsets).</p> <h2>DIY will tips</h2> <p>Will preparation software is a fine option these days, because it is much more developed than it was even five or ten years ago. Watch our previous episode where we <a href= "https://anthonyspark.com/e187-3-best-free-diy-will-software/">reviewed some DIY options</a>.</p> <p><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-42475" src= "https://anthonyspark.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/DIY-wIll-tips-300x169.jpg" alt="DIY wIll tips" width="300" height="169" /></p> <p>You may want to use a software program if you think you’ll make revisions quite often. Each revision with an attorney can be expensive. Simply changing a name can cost more than you’d think. Even if you just want to swap out “Joe” for “Bob” in your will, the attorney still has a duty to look over your entire estate plan and each document to make sure the