First, my ideal estate planning clients do not use LegalZoom for their estate planning. The people who use LegalZoom would never go to a lawyer who is not dirt cheap. Unfortunately, experienced estate planners are not dirt cheap. Therefore, LegalZoom certainly is not costing me any business.
Second, people who do their own estate planning, even with the help of some entity like LegalZoom, often don’t get their estate planning and funding right. These people typically never realize their own estate plan is defective, incomplete or unfunded.
Third, once someone dies with a defective or unfunded estate plan in place, the survivors soon realize they need expert help to clear up the problems a defective or unfunded estate plan creates. There is now a legal barrier between these people and their inheritance.
Fourth, at that point, the survivors become my ideal administration clients. My services have now gone from optional (as my services are sometimes seen in the planning stage) to required because the problem is now severe and there is urgency in solving the problem (the urgency is that people cannot get to “their” money!) Luckily for them, I have the skills to solve their problem. And because now I am fixing someone else’s mistakes, my fees are much higher than they would be if I had done the estate planning in the first place.
Yes, I love LegalZoom, I will just not let my friends and family use it, regardless of how much money I make from LegalZoom.
If you would like more information concerning estate planning, contact Antelope Valley estate planning law firm Thompson | Von Tungeln (TVT) at 661-945-5868 or visit their websites at www.EstatePlanningSpecialists.com and www.Medi-CalHelp.com. www.EstatePlanningSpecialists.com is a comprehensive online resource for personal wealth management solutions through wills and revocable trusts. www.Medi-CalHelp.com is a comprehensive online resource for long term nursing home care for the middle class. As Board Certified Specialists in Estate Planning, Trusts and Probate as certified by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization, Mark E. Thompson and Kevin L. Von Tungeln are expertly equipped to serve clients with the creative, effective and custom solutions they demand.
