End of Life Planning: Can You Do It Yourself?
According to a recent survey, only 33% of Americans have a will or a living trust. A lack of interest in estate and end of life planning is rooted in various reasons. Some people may feel uncomfortable thinking about their mortality, while others may not be sure of their final wishes.
The same study revealed a practical reason why so many people neglect end-of-life planning. It’s because they believe they can only do it using professional (and expensive) legal services. Because they can’t afford to pay a law firm to create an end-of-life plan, they often end up having none at all.
Is it really impossible to prepare end-of-life documents without spending a fortune on legal help? We’ve asked Tina Hall to share her story on how US Legal Forms helped her complete end-of-life planning paperwork for her family and friends.
Finding the appropriate legal forms
Tina Hall is not a legal professional, but that did not stop her from helping others with their life-planning documents. Being the last heir of her family, she had to do probates for her mom and grandparents.
She first stumbled upon US Legal Forms when she was googling legal templates to help her friend’s dad create his end-of-life documents:
“My friend’s dad wanted to do his end-of-life docs, living will, and dual power of attorney. I had previously done that for my family, so I wanted to help him out”
Though Tina had created similar documents before for her family members, she needed templates to get everything right. She checked a few websites but couldn’t find the form she needed.
“It was really hard to find the beneficiary deed. There were other deeds on other websites, but it was really hard for me to find the state-specific form.”
Besides that, it was difficult to find the most up-to-date version of the form Tina needed. She had browsed a few websites before she could find what she was looking for. Most sites offered outdated or irrelevant templates. That eventually brought her to the US Legal Forms website, where she found a suitable template.
“What I really liked about the website is the fact that it goes by each state, and it’s updated with the newest laws and forms. It’s really hard to go to the government website in each state and then pull up the packets, or whatever you need to do.”
Creating a legitimate document
Even though you can find legal templates for every use case online, most people would prefer to pay a law firm to take care of end-of-life papers for them, fearing they would make mistakes in the documents. To empower users without a legal background, US Legal Forms offers instructions for the forms available in its library.
“With other companies, you’re getting a template, but then you don’t know what to do with it. A lot of people don’t know anything about the legal system or whatnot. [US Legal Forms] explains it to you and tells you exactly where to mail the papers to, what to do step by step. I like that,” Tina said.
Why US Legal Forms
US Legal Forms provides top-quality legal templates and form packages for end-of-life planning. All forms are state-specific and created by lawyers to comply with each state’s legal regulations.
You can fill out PDF/Word forms online and then print them for signing. The forms include step-by-step instructions that guide you through the process of document creation.
Here’s how Tina describes her experience with US Legal Forms:
“I would say it’s efficient, fast, and for everyone. If you don’t know anything about legal stuff, it just really breaks it down to you and makes you feel comfortable. You feel good after leaving the website, like, “Oh, cool. I got what I needed. I’m good.”
Conclusion
End-of-life planning encompasses many tasks, from creating a living will and choosing a person who oversees your estate to distributing assets to beneficiaries, filing all paperwork with government agencies, and so on. It is worth taking care of it in advance. Failing to prepare end-of-life papers can result in challenges that your family may face later:
“If you don’t put it in writing, what will end up happening is that your assets end up going to the state.”
Though many people believe they need legal help to put together their end-of-life plan, in reality, anyone can do it on their own with a few forms and instructions.
Check US Legal Forms and get state-specific forms and form packages to prepare end-of-life documents for you and your loved ones.
