Sheppard, Brett, Stewart. Hersch, Kinsey & Hill, P.A.

‘Google U’’ Trust the Legal Experts —Not the Internet —When Drafting Your Estate Plan In his weekly column, Craig Hersch offers expert advice on the legal pitfalls of trusting everything you read online. Below is an edited snippet fromhis column, “Google U.” You can read the full version at SBSHLaw.com. what they’ve found as the gospel, providing many with confidence that they can self-diagnose and solve a legal issue, like estate planning.

I call these people Google U graduates. FYI, that degree isn’t worth much!

Several years ago, when my mother was first diagnosed with acute myelodysplastic leukemia, the first thing that I did was search Google to learn more about the disease. The more I searched, the more confusing everything became. There was a lot of information from various sources that all appeared credible. The problemwith internet searches is that without specific knowledge about the issue you’re searching, you might take something out of context. You also don’t know if the source of the information you’re finding has any bias or how credible that source might be. When we find information on the internet related to medical issues, we usually bring that information to the physician treating us and ask them about what we’ve found. That’s largely because medicine is a complex science, and we realize that we need guidance when dealing with a specialized field. For some reason, however, I’ve found in my more than 30 years of practice that some laypeople don’t have the same regard for the law. In other words, they’ll run a few searches on the internet and take

Consider, for example, a couple in their second marriage, where each partner has children from a prior marriage. The husband searches Google and finds that he can create a “marital trust” for his wife that will provide her income for life and revert back to his children upon her death.

So he logs on to LegalZoom and creates a trust. No need for expensive lawyers, right? (Wrong.)

Without the proper education, training, and experience, you’re unlikely to recognize all of the legal and tax issues that apply to your situation, and therefore you can’t possibly select the type of plan and the provisions required to accomplish your goals. The best planners are creative in that they first listen to their clients’ goals and concerns, and then, after considering the type and value of the assets owned, they fashion a plan to meet those goals. Take Google U for what it’s worth: a starting point. For the best results, take what you’ve learned from your online education and ask for guidance from a seasoned professional.

C o v e r a r t i c l e c o n

Still groggy and hoarse from the night before, I smiled broadly and said, “I would tell him to get the hell out of my office as I’m a tax attorney, I don’t practice criminal defense law!”The class erupted in laughter, and I beamed with pride at my own cleverness. The professor, clearly not amused, and due to his youth was sensitive about perceived challenges to his authority. He stared me down as the laughter dissipated, resulting in an awkward silence. Only then did he growl at me to visit with him after class. Once in his office, I was met with a seemingly endless diatribe, lasting so long that I missed my next class. He didn’t like my joke, eventually marking me with a C+ for the semester despite my feeling that I nailed the final (my other grades that term included 4 As and a B+). I laugh now when recalling the experience, but I learned a valuable lesson about when to keep wisecracks to myself. It’s been more than 31 years since I graduated from law school, but there will always be something special about the time I spent in Gainesville. It was hard work, but the professors, nights at CJ’s, and the expertise I left with made all the work, studying, and late nights worth it. – Craig Hersch

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