Why Should I Use an Attorney Versus a Document Preparation Company?

Both an attorney and a document preparation company will prepare documents with information you provide. The primary difference, however, is that an estate planning attorney will ask you questions based on the information provided, which can prompt additional discussion, and in most cases result in additional provisions outside of a basic form.

An attorney, in essence, will put thought into your estate plan and come up with potential ideas to save costs and reduce the time that you have to devote to your own plan.

Another significant difference is the implementation of an estate plan. With a document preparation company, one typically will have the estate planning documents prepared, but everyone will need additional ancillary documents to fund their trust. At a minimum, people must be advised to fund their trust properly, which may involve review and analysis of deeds and the preparation of a deed into your trust for any real estate.

Though an attorney is more expensive, you are building a relationship for potential revisions in the future and ultimately for someone to assist in the administration after your death. An attorney will generally maintain your client file, and it may have information on assets or other information necessary for the administration in the future.

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