Legal Forms: The Do It To Yourself Method
Legal Forms fit in well with our "Do It Yourself" (DIY) nation. We watch home improvement shows, cooking shows, and decorating shows. Home Depot earns fortunes as we tackle home improvement projects.
This DIY spirit carries over to our own legal issues. However, there is great danger in using the "do it yourself" legal forms for divorce, estate planning, business formation, etc. Some of the most frequent stories I hear when speaking about issues, are the consequences of these DIY forms.
Yesterday, I attended a continuing legal education class about rules regarding pension and retirement benefits like pensions, 401(k)s, and IRAs. He is like a brain surgeon in the legal world, the expert to which other attorneys and judges go for help. His fee is $300.00 per hour.
He used a great line when he called DIY legal forms "The Do It To Yourself Forms" because when you foul it up using the forms, you can only say that you did it to yourself. Unfortunately, there is no easy estate plan when retirement benefits, 401K, or IRAs are involved. The tax rules are too complex. Because of your DIY planning, your family could face a tax rate between 35% to 80% of the money that you leave them in your retirement savings.
Eventually, the DIY catches up with us when we get in over our head. I once started fixing my computer but could not finish it without the help of an expert. It cost me more after I Did It To Myself than to pay a professional in the first place. Imagine the cost of $300.00 per hour to fix a legal mess, in addition to the irreparable tax consequences.
Do you really want your family to say: Mom and Dad were "do it yourselfers" and they did this to themselves. Please get competent legal counsel for your estate planning. Otherwise, you are taking a chance that you will do it to yourself and your family.
