You have probably heard the saying: “The lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client.” If that is true, what about a non-lawyer who tries to represent himself?
In this age of the internet, I see many people attempting to prepare their own legal documents, particularly for Estate Planning. Typically, this involves accessing some do-it-yourself legal website which provides generic forms. These forms include the Durable Power of Attorney, Designation of Health Care Surrogate, Living Will, Deed, Revocable Living Trust and Last Will and Testament.
In over forty years of experience as a Florida attorney, I have seen very few non-lawyers successfully create and properly execute any of the above legal documents. Documents are created and/or executed improperly, resulting in a legal can of worms.
Deeds are a common example of where an attempt to save a few dollars in attorney’s fees results in what can often end up being major title defects. There are many types: Warranty, Quit Claim, Trustee’s, Enhanced Life Estate (also known as Lady Bird). Properties are improperly transferred, thereby creating a defect in the title which needs to be corrected either while someone is alive or during a probate process after death. The defects can involve improper dates, names, lack of proper witnessing and/or notarizing, incorrect legal descriptions and insufficient language (particularly for Lady Bird Deeds). Lawyers make mistakes, too, particularly those who are not experienced in real estate.
Each of our fifty states has its own unique set of laws. Therefore, attempting to use a generic form for Florida is asking for trouble.
In October of 2011, the Florida Legislature passed a new law regarding the Durable Power of Attorney. This law makes the document much more complicated and detailed than it used to be. I worked with other law firms for many months to create a proper document to conform to the complex new law. It is highly unlikely that such a document (our current format is approximately 26 pages) is available on the internet.
Likewise, there is specific language regarding the Federal HIPAA Act which must be included in all Florida Designation of Health Care Surrogates to make them “HIPAA compliant.” The correct language is not likely to exist on the generic Health Care Surrogate forms. Without the proper language, these legal/medical documents may be rejected by the hospital or doctor when you need them most.
Regarding Revocable Living Trusts, attempts to create this document and then transfer property frequently results in a total mess which requires that a lawyer revoke all of the previous documents and start from scratch.
There are individuals and companies that advertise themselves as paralegals and claim they are not providing legal advice but only forms. In my opinion, it is virtually impossible to provide a legal form without providing legal advice.
The bottom line is: there is no guarantee that hiring a lawyer will mean a good result. However, you certainly stand a much better chance than doing it on your own.
I am available for a free phone consultation regarding Estate Planning. Call me at 954-569-4878. My address is 3275 W. Hillsboro Blvd., Suite 204, Deerfield Beach, Florida 33442. My website is http://www.martinzevinpa.com and my e-mail address is [email protected].
