Can I Write My Own Will?

This is the age of “Do it Yourself” – and Artificial Intelligence (AI) has joined the conversation. Why pay a plumber to fix a leaking pipe if you can instead watch a YouTube video or ask AI how to do the repairs?

Learning a new skill brings a sense of accomplishment. Many people enjoy the challenge of figuring out how to do a new task. And if you make mistakes while learning to bake bread, no harm is done and you can ask AI for suggestions to improve your baking technique.

Using AI, and other online learning sources, to learn more about a topic can be useful, provided the sources are reliable, of course.

Whether it is AI or Legal Zoom, the question is this: Just because you can write your own Will (or any legal document), does that mean you should?

I can try to fix my car, but tinkering with motors is not my strong point. Just because I can find a YouTube video or AI instructions does not mean I should attempt a car repair. I am very aware of my mechanical limitations.

However, using online resources to learn more about the inner workings of a car before I go to an auto repair shop is smart. Armed with information, I can talk more knowledgeably with the mechanic about which expensive repairs are urgent and which can be delayed.

Estate Planning is more than preparing documents such as Wills, Trusts, Deeds, Powers of Attorney, and Health Care Directives. It is not a fill-in-the-blanks process. An experienced estate planning attorney will ask questions about your family, your assets and your goals, and make specific recommendations tailored to your situation.

An Estate Planning attorney uses various strategies for avoiding probate, protecting an inheritance for a young or disabled heir, minimizing taxes, protecting assets from creditors and future long-term care costs, and avoiding family battles.

An attorney learns the nuances of these strategies through decades of experience because each client is different from the next. What is right for your neighbor might not be appropriate for your family.

Best of all, the information you give an attorney is confidential. The internet is not.

The Estate Planning Attorneys at Henningson & Snoxell, Ltd. in Maple Grove, MN, encourage our clients to educate themselves and learn how to get their affairs in order. The internet can be a good resource to learn, if the information is written by a reliable source. However, this information will not be tailored to your situation.

For personalized estate planning from experienced attorneys, contact Henningson & Snoxell, Ltd. today.