Many individuals do not want to go to an attorney’s office to develop their estate plan and seek online services such as Legal Zoom, Nola Law, Legacy Writer, or Create My Estate Plan, etc.  My research shows along with reviewing actual trusts developed with the assistance of these web sites that they are pretty much a waste of money.  Every state has its own laws concerning estate planning codified in their state probate code yet these service sites do not break their plans down by state law.  There is no national probate code!

The other reason is that these sites do not give you LEGAL ADVICE but legal information.  On LegalZoom.com to quote, “this site is not legal advice, but general information on legal issues commonly encountered.”  From CreateMyEstatePlan.com it says,” This site does not provide legal advice, counsel or representation to viewers of the site, its customers, purchasers, or any other persons or entities  under any circumstances.”  From the LegacyWriter.com site, “this site does not provide legal advice and use of this site is not a substitute for hiring an attorney licensed to practice in your state.“  NolaLaw.com states,” This site provides information about the law designed to help users safely cope with their own legal needs. But legal information is not the same as legal advice — the application of law to an individual’s specific circumstances.”

WE MAKE ONE RECOMMENDATION to those of you who are smart and that is PracticalPlans.com and the reason why is “LEGAL ADVICE IS PROVIDED BY THE LAWYERS OF PRACTICAL PLANS” and they limit themselves to California only.  We at PFS do not receive referral fees, click through fees or any compensation for this recommendation or any recommendation made.