The Critical Differences Between Custom and DIY Estate Plans | Broken Arrow Estate Planning Lawyer

If you’re researching estate planning options, you may encounter various approaches to creating wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and health care directives. There’s an increasing number of non-attorneys offering estate planning document preparation services without legal advice, and there are online platforms that promote do-it-yourself solutions. With so many options to choose from, it is natural to wonder if working with an experienced estate planning lawyer is worth the investment. If you choose a low-cost or DIY estate plan, make sure that you’re making an informed decision. An experienced estate planning attorney offers crucial advantages for protecting yourself, your family, and your legacy.

Beyond Basic Documents: The Custom Estate Planning Process

Your individual needs, wishes, and circumstances are unique. Your estate plan should be, too. Experienced estate planning attorneys aren’t in the business of selling fill-in-the-blank forms.  At Littleton Legal, we provide customized, holistic counsel that is based on a thorough analysis of not only your finances, but also your family dynamics, goals, and fears, and planning opportunities that may not be on your radar. In designing your estate plan, we thoughtfully consider factors such as:

• Selecting decision-makers that are well-equipped to handle the responsibility of being your agent, executor, or trustee
• Opportunities to promote family harmony and avoid conflict
• Aligning your assets with your estate plan so that your will or trust works as intended
• Proactively identifying financial planning, tax-savings, or asset protection opportunities
• Creating “safety nets” for when life doesn’t play out as expected –things like long-term care needs, special needs or disabilities, creditor problems, divorce or blended family concerns, addiction issues, minors or young adults inheriting more assets than they’re prepared to manage
• Business succession planning

Even if your assets are modest, do not make the mistake of thinking only wealthy people need customized estate plans. In fact, the stakes can be even higher for people with limited resources as the cost and inconvenience of probate, guardianship, or bad money management is more burdensome and jeopardizes your ability to pass down generational wealth. Every adult deserves an estate plan that is designed for their unique needs, whether the ultimate solution is a simple will, a revocable living trust, asset protection strategies, or complex business succession structures.

Understanding the Risks of DIY Estate Planning

While DIY estate planning platforms market themselves as cost-effective solutions, they present several significant risks:

1. Oversimplification of the Available Options. For a DIY or generic estate plan to work seamlessly, you must know or understand all the questions to ask yourself and the options available to you. At Littleton Legal, we have helped thousands of families navigate the estate planning process. This allows us to share the lessons we’ve learned along the way to select the best legal tools for you, and then to customize them in a way that maximizes your estate plan. We can confidently assure you that no two estate plans are exactly the same.
2. Limited State-Specific Guidance: Oklahoma law has specific requirements for valid estate planning documents, including wills, trusts, health care advance directives, and durable powers of attorney. Generic forms may not comply with these state-specific regulations. Even the state statutory forms are insufficient to accomplish most people’s goals long-term.
3. Execution Requirements: Proper document execution involves more than signatures. Oklahoma law requires specific witnessing and notarization procedures that vary by document type. Incorrect execution can invalidate your entire plan.
4. Complex Asset Protection: DIY platforms typically can’t address sophisticated asset protection strategies or business succession planning needs. This limitation can leave your assets vulnerable or create unintended tax consequences.
5. Lack of Coordinated Planning: Estate planning involves coordinating multiple legal tools, from wills and trusts to health care documents and financial powers of attorney. DIY solutions often fail to ensure these documents work together effectively.
6. Failure to Properly Align Your Assets with Your Estate Plan. A trust only governs what it owns, and a will is only binding on the assets that are your “estate”. Without sound advice, many people designate beneficiaries and own assets in a way that conflicts with the instructions they lay out in their estate plan.

The Value of Professional Estate Planning

Working with experienced estate planning advisors like the team at Littleton Legal provides several key advantages:

• Technical Accuracy: We ensure all documents comply with current Oklahoma law and are properly executed.
• Asset Protection Strategies: We identify opportunities to protect your assets from potential creditors and lawsuits.
• Tax Planning: We help minimize potential estate tax implications and preserve wealth for future generations.
• Health Care Planning: We create comprehensive health care powers of attorney, advance health care directives, and HIPAA authorizations that work together seamlessly.
• Guardianship Avoidance: We help avoid guardianship for incapacitated or aging adults and ensure guardians for minors reflect your children’s best interests.
• Business Integration: We coordinate business succession planning with personal estate planning for optimal outcomes that maximize the value of your business in a way that is fair for all your heirs.
• Family Harmony:  You can have peace of mind that we’re proactively helping you make decisions that minimize conflict during emergencies and help your family work well together after your death.

Maintaining Your Estate Plan

Estate planning isn’t a one-time event. Life changes, law updates, and shifting family dynamics may necessitate plan modifications. An ongoing relationship with an estate planning attorney ensures your plan evolves with your circumstances and remains legally sound and aligned with your wishes

Take the Next Step

We invite you to schedule a consultation to discuss your estate planning needs. We’re here to help you protect yourself, your family, and your legacy. Call us at (918) 608-1836 or click here to schedule your appointment online.