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WisconsinChristianNews.com
Volume 25, Issue 8
Three Reasons Why Trusting Online Estate Planning Documents Is A Bad Idea
By Attorney Al Spiegel, McLario, Helm, Bertling & Spiegel Law Offices (See display ad on Page 40 of this issue of WCN) January 2025 After speaking to and meeting with
2). Online Legal Work Is Unprotected
ters is a waiver page. This page re- quires the user to read (or mindlessly scroll through, for most of us) a long document that accomplishes two pri- mary objectives. First, it gets the user to acknowledge that, even though the forms it can generate look legal and official, it is not giving and is not legally allowed to give legal advice. As such, the user is using the software at
the information of their customers to other companies so they can be tar- geted with ads of all kinds based on the personal information provided. In other words, free estate planning doc- uments aren’t free, they come at the cost of private information people don’t know they are sharing. 3). Online Legal Work Is Uncounseled The final concern with online legal document software is that it does not even try to provide counsel to users about what types of documents would be wise or appropriate in a given situ- ation. Users utilize the software al- ready having decided what kind of document they need, and the software mindlessly prepares it. It is not at all uncommon for a client to come into my office requesting a certain document based on research or conversations with friends, only to have me advise them that a different approach would better address their situation and desires. There is no op- portunity for this type of advice with a software that is not allowed or able to give legal advice, and that can lead to some very unintended and unfortu- nate results. As the old saying goes about free or suspiciously discounted things, “you get what you pay for.” The same cer- tainly applies to legal documents to a higher degree. In fact, the true costs of the mistakes or exposure created by these unsupported, unprotected and uncounseled documents might be far greater than one could imagine and are generally only discovered once it is too late to get them done right with an experienced profes- sional. McLario.com this world calls fulfillment (Matthew 4:7-10). I am here to tell you, not so! What the world offers is a lying counterfeit, a mockery of the Lord and His will, leading to the Ishmaels (Not the right ones), and in the end, a road that leads to death (Proverbs 14:12). In 1 John 2:15-16 it tells us: “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.” We will only find the Lord when we seek Him with the whole of our hearts (Jeremiah 29:11-13; Also read Matthew 6:33), and not until then. What the Lord adds to our lives always comes secondary to Him and His will, period (And is better than what we asked for, although it’s not always easy – Genesis 22:12). However, if one continues to think that they know better than the Lord, you will never understand the lesson in this article. Remember, patience is the weapon that forces deception to reveal itself (Luke 21:19). With the knowledge of God’s Law driving me to the foot of the cross, that is, where the Law can do no more (Galatians 3:24), and until I knew His Law (Ro- mans 3:20), I didn’t understand why it was that I needed to repent (Acts 20:21). The Law stripped me of my self-righteousness (for my righteousness is but filthy rags in the sight of God; Isaiah 64:6), only to turn me to Christ in putting on His righteousness and not my own (2 Corinthians 5:21). And Lord, this is that for which I am thankful! “…and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God…” (1 Thessalonians 1:9).
The second primary problem with online legal document generation soft- ware is that it requires users to enter a significant amount of personal in- formation to complete the documents. Names, addresses and contact infor- mation of not only the maker, but also of trusted friends and family are
thousands of people regarding estate planning, a few main lessons stand out. First, wise Christians see estate planning as stewardship of their as- sets and are happy to invest the time and resources necessary into stew- arding those assets well. Second, a vast majority of clients are surprised by how noninvasive the process is once it’s finished. And third, there are always a few individuals who will attempt to save a few dollars by preparing their own documents from online forms. Regarding that third reality, it is un- derstandable why people would seek a less intimidating and expensive op- tion than a formal estate plan with an experienced attorney. Information from many corners suggests that it can be done at a fraction of the price and is just as good as the results you might get from an expert, and it alle- viates the need to locate and entrust a new professional with your personal information and wishes. Estate planning using online forms, however simple it might seem, is con- sequential legal work. And for the fol- lowing three reasons, doing your own legal work is a shortsighted and dan- gerous idea. 1). Online Legal Work Is Unsupported Anyone who has explored online legal form generation software knows that the very first page a user encoun-
his or her own risk. Second, and flowing from the first, the waiver page gets the user to waive any claims against the owner of the software if the generated paperwork doesn’t work at all, doesn’t work as advertised, or even works in a way that is completely contrary to the wishes of the user. In other words, the owner of the software is denying any level of com- petency in creating and executing the forms it is selling to people and is pro- hibiting users from any recourse if the software messes up their lives or es- tates. That’s not exactly the level of support most users assume they are getting after ignoring the waiver page.
needed, so they are collected by the software to be included in the docu- ments. The problem with this collection is twofold. First, the legal software does not have the legal and ethical duty to protect that information since it is not an attorney (as it told people on the waiver page). As such, it does not need to do anything to protect or de- stroy the information as it comes in, or after the user’s documents are complete. The second part of the problem is much worse. Many online form gen- erators, especially those who work for “free,” make their income by selling
Thank You For All the ‘Nos’ By Bradlee Dean, Sons of Liberty January 2025
Sons O fLibertyRa d io.com
I recently saw a video of a man who, on his wed- ding day, said to the Lord publicly when looking at
his soon-to-be bride, “Thank you for all of the no’s.” Did you hear that? Thank you, Lord, for all of the no’s, “no’s” to the other girls who were not the right ones. He was so thankful that he went through the process that the Lord put him through so that he might marry the right one.
When I saw this video, I immediately thought of Christ as the Groom and the Church as the bride (2 Corinthians 11:2). I began to ponder all the “no’s” that the Lord has told to me throughout my life. How many times (Unbeknownst to me, at the fault of my Biblical ignorance) I would have chosen an idol to put in the place of my God and my Maker is more than I can count. By the way, the Lord will never bless you with something that removes Him from the throne of your heart, never. And today, just like this man who thanked the Lord for all of the “no’s,” in agreement, I thank Him as well. In Exodus 20:3-4, the First Commandment tells us, “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me” and the Second Commandment tells us, “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image…” This means not to create a god that suits your sins (materialistic objects, houses, cars, men-women, money, etc.). After all, “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36). All the things that the enemy and his minions point to are there to motivate the lost in chasing down what
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