As a Florida Estate Planning Lawyer, I often get asked about Florida Estate Planning and Using “Do it yourself estate plans” like quicken or other online services. Mark Jakubik with the Pennsylvania Estate Planning Blog has a good analogy about the topic:
Recently we were having some work done at our home. The contractor is a great guy, a true craftsman and a perfectionist. He is also expensive, but his work is so good that he is worth the price. While finishing up the job, he asked me one day about some estate planning questions that had been bothering him. We chatted for a few minutes, and I suggested we meet to have a more detailed discussion. “Can’t I just download some stuff and do it myself?” he wanted to know. I asked him what he thought would have happened if I had tried to do the job he’d just finished for me by myself. “Total mess…” was the response.