Plan in Place: Sort of Like LegalZoom, But Way Better
We are extremely excited to announce our new service, Plan in Place. Plan in Place allows individuals and couples with straightforward situations to put their estate plans in place from the comfort of their own homes. The service combines the convenience and cost-effectiveness of an online service like LegalZoom with the peace of mind and confidence that comes with having your estate plan prepared by an experienced estate planning attorney.
If you’ve been waiting to do your estate plan, but waiting for a better option, you should check out Plan in Place. As you can see on the site, there’s a lot to like about the service:
Fees are made known upfront, and start at $800, even when a trust is involved.
After we receive your completed questionnaire and payment, documents are sent within 2-4 business days.
An experienced attorney will look over the information you provide and follow-up with you if your responses are perhaps a bit cattywampus.
Documents are mailed in a binder that includes instructions on how to sign the documents and what to do post-signing so that your plan functions as you intend.
How is Plan in Place better than LegalZoom?
We are so glad you asked! LegalZoom’s terms of service make it clear that YOU ARE REPRESENTING YOURSELF when you do your estate plan. Their site, in microscopic font, says that “We are not a law firm or a substitute for an attorney or law firm. We cannot provide any kind of advice, explanation, opinion, or recommendation about possible legal rights, remedies, defenses, options, selection of forms or strategies.”
As fancy as their website or similar websites might be, completing your estate plan with them is no better than giving it the old college try with ChatGPT or a form book from the local library.
Getting real legal advice matters. There’s a big difference between being our client and being their customer. We’ve had people come to us who tried to do their estate plan on their own and managed to make some pretty bad mistakes, such as disinheriting a spouse, disinheriting a child, or naming their 5-year-old daughter as an executor. Nobody at LegalZoom was there to stop those disasters from happening.
How is Plan in Place better than a traditional engagement?
Ahh, another good question. A traditional engagement involves an initial consultation with an attorney before documents are prepared. Frankly, in many cases, Plan in Place is not appropriate and clients need a traditional engagement. That’s because a lot of clients have something going on with their family or finances that complicates things—a second marriage, a special needs child, a child struggling with drugs or alcohol, a family business, a second home, millions of dollars, etc. We can still navigate those twists and turns and help you come out on the other end with a tailored plan that is completed efficiently, from both a time and cost standpoint, but those situations require some care.
The truth of the matter, though, is that a lot of clients interested in Ohio estate planning don’t need to take time out of their busy workdays to answer questions that they can easily answer through an online questionnaire. Those meetings actually slow them down and delay the necessary process of having an estate plan in place.
How can I learn more?
Check out the website at www.planinplace.com. You can also call or email Matt Gibson. And if you take nothing else away from this post, I hope you’ll find at least one opportunity to use the word “cattywampus” in the very near future.