You should use an attorney to change or amend your estate planning documents (last will and testament, power of attorney, revocable living trust) because you want to be able to rely upon these documents upon your death or incapacity.

First, you should go to an attorney to create your estate plan because only an experienced estate planning attorney can apply your specific situation to the facts. No on-line form can give you advice based upon your own situation. We generally think that estate planning is much more than just "document preparation." While some familial situations may be simple, we want to make sure the documentation, goals and assets all align, and an estate planning attorney is the best person to make this happen.

Next, changes to the documents must all be done with care and should be done with an attorney as well. Any changes to your documents must be made in the same way your original documents were created. This typically means witnessing and notarizing the changes, among other matters. You do not know what you do not know.

True Story: We created a last will and testament for a client who left money to his girlfriend. Before he died, he crossed his girlfriend off the will and initialed the change. When he died, the change he made had no legal effect - his ex-girlfriend inherited the money from the will.

Another True Story: I received a frantic phone call from a daughter. Her father just had a stroke. The father created a living trust through an on-line company only months before, but he did not even create a last will and testament, durable power of attorney or other incapacity documents. Dad died shortly after our conversation and we are probating his assets, among other matters, while dad could have just gone to see an attorney and saved his family a lot of grief, heartache and money with going to a good attorney for his estate plan.

This is the point - your life, your family, your wishes are all too important to leave to chance, so you should see an attorney to help make sure your wishes are followed. Estate planning is difficult enough as there are many things that can go wrong, but leaving things to chance and not seeking professional advice in order to save money just should not be a priority.  Your end-of-life wishes, and your family, are just too important to take the cheap way out to avoid attorneys.

Want to learn more about creating a good estate plan?

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D. Rep DeLoach III
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Estate Planning and Board Certified Elder Law Attorney