NO! Through looking at various estate plans and documents, I have come to the realization that it is never a good idea to do your own estate plan (unless you have had extensive experience in estate planning and even then it is a good idea to consult with other professionals regarding this area). The reason is that estate planning is so particular to the person, and to the person’s belongings, that there are issues which may be unknown to you lurking in the background. A properly drafted estate plan can draft around these issues. The documents are simple to obtain and pretty easy to fill out, however, the issues that are particular to your situation are the ones which make estate planning a little more complicated. A computer or document you find online will not be able to give you that tailored information that an attorney can give you. A qualified estate planning attorney can provide a plan that will help your particular situation. By talking to them, they will be able to find issues that you may not even know come up. Estate plans that are poorly written or poorly executed may cause more grief than not having an estate plan at all! This is because, if you did not properly account for the many various situations, and if your drafting is poor, then the person in charge of actually executing your plan will have to do some clean up, and clean up costs money and time that could have been avoided had this just been done properly in the first place!
But what if my situation is simple?
Still no, and how do you know you have a simple estate in the first place? Sometimes people believe that their situation is uncomplicated and very simple to resolve, but they may have past marriage situations, blended family situations, a large number of assets and or special business situations, and overall a situation that that requires special attention. If through reading this, you have come to the conclusion that you need an estate plan, then I would definity seek the services of a qualified attorney.