They have no plan for incapacity. Most people think of estate planning as death planning. They neglect the durable power of attorney and healthcare directive entirely, or they use bare-bones statutory forms without customizing agent authority. When a cognitive decline or medical crisis hits, the family is left petitioning for a court-supervised guardianship — which is expensive, slow, and public.
A common mistake I see DIYers make is not following the rules of execution of their estate planning documents in their state. Occasionally, the documents will be witnessed but not notarized, or notarized but not witnessed – or they are related to the witnesses – or the witnesses are beneficiaries of the documents – or the notary signed as one of the witnesses.
Not understanding the roles within the documents (ex. trustee, settlor, beneficiary)
Not revisiting regularly to ensure wishes are up to date.
Drafting your own estate planning documents without the advice/assistance of an attorney.
Outright distributions for beneficiaries.
Draft a simple financial power of attorney and think it will work during life and after life to settle someones estate.
Having the mentality that wills don’t go through probate.
Operating Agreements drafted from Legal Zoom or an online template that do not actually align with their business or their personal needs and the clients are completely unaware.
Your assets are not properly moved into your Trust, and so a probate could be triggered.
Using online templates that don’t account for state law, tax considerations, or family dynamics. Most people assume their situation is “simple,” but in practice, family structures and asset profiles are almost always more complex than they realize—leading to incomplete or flawed plans.
Handwritten changes to a trust.
