Would you bet the monthly mortgage in a casino? Of course not. You are a responsible person and caretaker for your loved ones. Then why trust your estate planning advice to a Will kit or website that makes no promise to help you avoid complex legal pitfalls or litigation, and cannot substitute for the advice of an attorney? If you did, you may be risking your family’s financial security and your possessions for the ease, comfort, and savings of avoiding the attorney’s office.

Drafting your own Will often creates more problems than it solves. Probate may be made more difficult, post-mortem legal fees may be increased, so-called “death taxes” may be assessed or increased, and your beneficiaries may not be afforded options that could have been available to them, or worse yet, the State may decide to whom your assets will go upon your demise. If you are using a Will kit, you are likely getting a recycled mish-mash of material meant to satisfy the laws of all fifty states. However, the states are not uniform on what constitutes an acceptable document. It is possible that even one mistake on the face of the Will may cause the entire document to be invalidated.

At Drescher & Cheslow, P.A., our attorneys have been concentrating on professional and creative estate planning for 30+ years. We can help to advise you on sound estate and gift planning strategies to meet your financial goals and minimize you and your family’s tax exposure.