What you don’t know, especially about online estate planning services, can ruin a lifetime of hard work and undercut you plans for your family’s future. This is because online services are mostly DIY – and that means no real-person professional guidance when you need it most.

I’ve learned there are four kinds of knowledge:

• There’s what you know.
• And what you don’t know.
• There’s what you don’t know you don’t know.
• But most critical of all, what you don’t know
  you don’t know and really need to know.

And let me tell you this:  What you need to know doesn’t get much more personal and life-changing than in Estate Planning.  Here’s why I say that. To protect what you earned and ensure it’s passed down to the beneficiaries that you desire, professional advice is essential. Trust me, the law doesn’t allow do-overs when you’re dead.

Don’t count on the computer asking you all the right questions that consider and address the specific nuances of your situation. And if you use a service that hooks you up with a lawyer, you don’t know him or her, and they don’t know you. But that won’t stop estate planning robots from advising you and billing you hourly for it. How bad could it be?

As an example, I’ve pasted the disclaimer below that comes from one of the more popular online services:

Communications between you and [provider] are protected by our Privacy Policy but not by the attorney-client privilege or as work product. [Provider]provides access to independent attorneys and self-help services at your specific direction. We are not a law firm or a substitute for an attorney or law firm. We cannot provide any kind of advice, explanation, opinion, or recommendation about possible legal rights, remedies, defenses, options, selection of forms or strategies. (Emphasis added).

As disclaimers go, I’d categorize that one somewhere between bone-chilling and soul-crushing.

The point is to go ahead and buy your electronics, toiletries and even groceries online.  If you’re comfortable taking the risk, you can even meet people and buy a car online.

It’s a buyer beware thing,  but estate planning is real life, your family’s fate, and all you’ve worked for. Your dreams for them aren’t something you want to hand over to a robot estate planner you met in cyber-space. Or a lawyer who sees you as a line item on a spreadsheet.

To learn more, visit us online, reach out with an email, or fill out our online questionnaire.

Thanks for reading and all the best to you and yours.

Aaron