Top 3 Do It Yourself Estate Planning Strategies – and Reasons To Hire A Professional

Strategy 1: I’ll just write my own will!

Reasons to avoid it:

If certain formalities are not followed, may be unenforceable – not worth the paper it’s written on
If anything in your will is ambiguous, or if certain contingencies are left undefined, all will have to be resolved in court
Loved ones will be hit with the cost and the pain of probate, for real estate (tens of thousands of dollars more than proper estate planning with an attorney)

Strategy 2: I’ll leave everything to Big Sister, and ask her to make gifts on my behalf; she’ll take care of it!

Reasons to avoid it:

No “legal strings” – you’re basically asking your sister to do you a favor, and share your stuff, which at the point after your death is legally hers, with the people of your choosing. There’s no mechanism in place to actually ensure that your wishes will be honored
Potential tax consequences, with real estate transfers. Because with this mechanism, your real estate will legally belong to your sister before she transfers it to the intended beneficiary, the Tax Assessor will treat it as a taxable transfer, and will reassess the taxes on the property. There can also be a second reassessment on the subsequent transfer to your intended beneficiary.
Potential gift tax consequences for transfers from sister to your intended beneficiary.

Strategy 3: We’ll just add our child to the title of our home

Reasons to avoid it:

Child gets married, then divorced: the soon-to-be ex-spouse may now have a potential claim to a portion of your house
Child passes away, with no estate planning: his spouse will now own a portion of your house
Child wants to buy a house on his own: but he may have difficulties qualifying for a mortgage, as his name is already associated with your house

Bottom line

Estate planning is a complicated field, and all estate planning transactions may have legal, financial, and personal consequences. Consulting a professional will be cheaper, safer, and more reliable, in the long run. We can discuss your specific situation.

Set up a free consultation today

We’ve been putting off getting our Trust, Living Will, Advanced Care directives, etc. in place due to the daunting and overwhelming amount of information out there. We did our basic homework and quickly realized that every attorney handles the process differently (i.e. questionnaires, information gathering, fees, etc).

After a one-hour consultation with Marina, we quickly understood what we needed to know about what we specifically needed to put in place and if we hired her exactly what would happen next to get that done. We also understood from that session exactly what her fees would be for her services which was very nice.

We had one follow-up information gathering call, one set of homework to make decisions and gather final information for those decisions, and one final meeting to sign all the paperwork. The process was simple, easy to follow, and completed much faster than we expected. Marina was very easy to work with and answered all of our questions promptly. She was also very flexible and accommodating in regards to scheduling meetings with us based on our schedules.

We would definitely recommend Marina for Estate Planning services and will gladly engage her in the future for any additional services that we may need.

– Samata P., Sunnyvale CA

I procrastinated about setting up a living will for years. After speaking with Ms. Modlin I realized how important it is for everyone to have one – especially someone with children (or in my case, one child). I was embarrassed at how little I knew about the legal process but she explained everything to me. She was very patient with me and my lack of organization.

I have referred a few others to her and they have all been pleased with her services as well. Marina is a true professional who is passionate about her work, I highly recommend her!

– Vicki A., San Jose, CA

I had an Estate to settle in California: living in Canada, this was not a simple matter dealing with cross border attorneys, laws, rules and regulations. I didn’t know where to turn. I had a few names recommended to me, one of which was Marina’s.

Mine was not a simple matter, yet, after speaking on the phone and getting the details, she went out of her way to inquire and find out the information for me. She got back to me in a prompt manner as she promised (i deal with many attorneys in my business and trust me, this is more of an exception that a rule when they return your call or do anything promptly).

Marina knew that she the hours she spent researching may not necessarily lead to getting an account, yet she has invested herself in getting the answers for me (and I appreciated that she didn’t just make things up). She was courteous, professional, and honest and prompt…What more can anyone ask for from a professional.

If you are shopping around for a professional in this field, i can tell you this: you can’t go wrong with Marina

– Vlad B., Toronto, Canada