1. The Pitfalls of LegalZoom and
Other DIY Estate Planning
“Solutions”
CONSIDERING YOUR ESTATE PLANNING
OPTIONS
&
READING THE FINE PRINT
Orlando Attorney Jordan L. Donaldson

2. Considering Your Estate Planning Options
 When considering the number of options available to you
for preparing a will or setting up a trust, which will you
choose?
 Software or web applications, such as LegalZoom, may
stand out for their ideal pricing in comparison to hiring
an attorney.
 Alternatively, perhaps you are considering a free do-it-
yourself website or cheap will forms from an office
supply store.
 However, all of these options have risks that are not
obvious to consumers, and should be considered to avoid
potential, serious pitfalls down the road.
Orlando Attorney Jordan L. Donaldson

3. Reading the Fine Print
Orlando Attorney Jordan L. Donaldson

4. Reading the Fine Print
 Most online of software programs have
disclaimers that may be easy to skim
over or disregard entirely;
however, each individual’s
circumstances vary and may make a
substantial difference in deciding the
various provisions you must have in
your will or trust documents.
Orlando Attorney Jordan L. Donaldson

5. Reading the Fine Print
 For example, here are a few of the
obvious errors attorneys across the
country have noticed in recent
LegalZoom estate documents
Orlando Attorney Jordan L. Donaldson

6. Reading the Fine Print
 Failure to incorporate an alternate trustee in case the
designated trustee died before the testator or is not
able or not willing to act. Proper care should also be
given to selecting suitable successors, in case the
designated individual might not be in a position or
prepared to uphold those responsibilities.
Orlando Attorney Jordan L. Donaldson

7. Reading the Fine Print
 Failure to provide advice in relation to beneficiary
designations of non-probate property that passes on
outside of the will.
Orlando Attorney Jordan L. Donaldson

8. Reading the Fine Print
 Failure to provide a provision which would permit
the testator to designate the distribution of his or her
personal property in a separate document.
Orlando Attorney Jordan L. Donaldson

9. Reading the Fine Print
 Failure to address the contingent death(s) of the
testator’s heirs or children, or the birth/adoption of
an additional child.
Orlando Attorney Jordan L. Donaldson

10. Reading the Fine Print
 Failure to add a spendthrift clause within the trust
document, which shields the trust’s property from
the beneficiaries’ lenders and creditors.
Orlando Attorney Jordan L. Donaldson

11. Reading the Fine Print
 Failure to recommend who ought to carry out the
estate plan itself. Simply being the older or smarter
heir or child doesn’t instantly make that particular
person the best or most correct option for
executor, trustee, guardian, or health care
surrogate. Every one of these positions carries with
it rather specific requirements, and the individual
designated has to be capable and prepared to
satisfy those requirements.
Orlando Attorney Jordan L. Donaldson

12. All of these problems
would be avoided by
hiring an attorney and
obtaining legal advice
specifically tailored to
your individual
circumstances.
Orlando Attorney Jordan L. Donaldson

13. Do-it-yourself programs may seem fit to cover all of
your needs and might use language that sounds
sufficient, but mistakes can happen and are
sometimes unavoidable without the assistance of an
attorney. Unfortunately, those mistakes often aren’t
discovered until after an individual’s death — leaving
loved ones struggling to undo mistakes that could
have been avoided.
Orlando Attorney Jordan L. Donaldson

14. Over time, the law will continue to evolve,
and attorneys will continue to keep up
with the law so we can provide our clients
with personalized, tailored counsel that is
correct and up-to-date. Whether
LegalZoom and other DIY document
preparation companies will do the same is
a looming question with no ascertainable
answer. Are you willing to take the risk?
Orlando Attorney Jordan L. Donaldson