Don't be an Idiot by Completely Trusting an Attorney to Plan Your Estate!

     About 25 years ago, in Yakima, Washington, I was at Schwab, Kurtz and Hurley, a law office where my mother's boyfriend worked.  He eventually became a judge as did at least two other people from that firm; I do not wish to imply that anyone from that firm perpetrated the sort of activity that I describe below, not all attorneys are shisters!   (Also, I'm not an attorney so this isn't legal advice!)

     However, they used to have a sign on the shelf at the receptionist's window that said:

"Have You Made Your Will?" 

I didn't think much of that sign back then.  In fact, my mother's boyfriend eventually decided to get rid of it because it was "tacky" -- he gave it to me.  But if I was to see that sign now in an attorney's office, I really would think that might be an indication of shisters within.

     AARP apparently offers a "service" to their members: they keep lists of lawyers who will make a "Simple Will" for little cost.  My grandmother recently showed me a draft of something that one of those shisters write for her, to see if I thought that it was okay.  It resembled the "boiler plate" writing one might get from computer generated legal documents, like those Nolo produces  for the "do it yourself" crowd, but I now realize that Nolo would have done a much better job!  I now realize that attorneys who offer to make 'low-cost' wills in actuality may be perpetrating a scam in which they make up the difference later.  Lawyers who charge next to nothing may do so as a "loss lead" knowing that they will cover the difference when they "Probate" the will upon the death of the person with the "low cost" will.

     When my grandmother's most recently deceased husband, Thomas Dow, died grandmother talked with the (now retired) attorney from "Velikanje, Morre and Shore" who made their will and he told her that it would have to be "Probated" but he did not tell her much else.  Several months went by and bills came in from his office.  She did not understand what they were doing, but if she had understand, she would have been pissed off!

"Even England -- the source of our antiquated probate laws -- abolished its elaborate probate system years ago.  It survives in this country because it is so lucrative for lawyers." -- Make Your Own Living Trust 7th Edition, p. 1/5

     Probate is something that "Estate Planning" can help you to avoid and if you want to avoid it you should either know a lot about the subject or talk to an "Estate Planner" because "Probate" is an expensive process that can tie up assets for as little as a few months and as long as several years.  Finding a good estate planner is a topic too large for this article, so please educate yourself!  Unscrupulous lawyers who write wills might not tell you how to avoid probate, especially if they think that your heirs will hire them to probate the will...

"Some lawyers even persuade (or dupe) clients into naming them as executors, enabling the lawyers to hire themselves as probate attorneys and collect two fees -- one as executor, one as probate attorney." -- Make Your Own Living Trust 7th Edition, p. 1/5

From what I have read, though I'll again admit that I'm no expert, it seems that there are 8 Ways to Avoid Probate that include various "transfer-on-death" contingencies naming beneficiaries on bank accounts and brokerage accounts, "Joint Ownership" on property and creating "Living Trusts", among other things. 

     Correct me if I'm wrong, but it would seem that any lawyer who doesn't at least mention "avoiding probate" wants to make money probating your will, and that such an attorney is a shister who should lose his or her license to practice law; I'm sure that the American Bar Association would disagree.  Should I check for myself?