I used to try home repairs more than now. Experience can be such a tough teacher. On one notable occasion, my do-it-yourself plumbing “repair” caused a flood inside my home. I was so sure, before the fact, that the initial problem (the constant drip, drip, drip from a leaky valve) would require a simple fix. Not so. If you’ve ever seen Mickey Mouse play the role of the Sorcerer’s Apprentice, you can imagine my panicked response when water started spilling all over the floor, through the ceiling, etc. “Our first homeowners claim,” my wife commented matter-of-factly, as we surveyed the damage it had wreaked. As embarrassing as the whole situation was for me personally, the hit to my wallet hurt even more. The dollars I had hoped to save by doing the work myself were actually paid multiple times to satisfy my homeowners policy deductible.
So, I have learned to leave many “simple” repairs to the most qualified. Similarly, I have found in my estate planning practice that people who try to do it on their own risk creating major headaches for themselves. Case in point: A few years ago, a new client came to me after her attempt to sell his house was completely thwarted by some do-it-yourself estate planning. It all started when he inherited a house from his parents’ estate. He decided it would be easy to add his three youngest children to the title deed. As she explained to me, long after the fact, it was her intention to protect the children’s rights to the property in the event of her death. With that in mind, she purchased a fill-in-the-blank deed at her local stationery store and registered the deed. Not long after, when she decided to sell the property, she learned that adding her minor children to the title created big problems: for the title company, which would not secure the transaction due to underage sellers; to the prospective buyer of it, who wouldn’t proceed without title insurance; for your lender; and by herself. Too late, my client realized that her attempt to do estate planning for her turned out to be as good as my plumbing repair exercise.
I have heard variations on this sad story from other estate planning professionals. It is not uncommon, it seems, for well-intentioned individuals to attempt to prepare their own estate plan without professional advice. I suppose that access to all that free information via the Internet, the proliferation of legal DIY kits, and the completely understandable desire to save a few bucks whenever possible have led more than a few enterprising consumers to boldly go where they eventually realize they wish they hadn’t. Having stood with wet shoes in the puddles created by my do-it-yourself plumbing, I can certainly sympathize. As I learned, and as my client learned, good professional advice can protect you from costly mistakes.
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