Can I Do My Own Estate Planning? A Lawyer’s Perspective

Short answer: You can — but estate planning isn’t about filling out forms; it’s about protecting your life’s work, your family, and your intentions.

In today’s digital world, it’s easy to believe that estate planning can be accomplished with a few clicks and a credit card. Online legal platforms advertise quick, inexpensive “trust kits” and “DIY will packages.” For many Californians, especially those with modest estates, the appeal is understandable: why hire an attorney if you can do it yourself?

But from a lawyer’s perspective — and from decades of experience at Moravec, Varga & Mooney guiding families through California’s probate system — the question isn’t whether you can do your own estate planning. It’s whether doing it yourself will actually accomplish what you think it will. These programs are designed for cookie cutter estates, and unless you know the right questions to ask, you will most certainly not get what you need drafted into the document you are provided.

Get in Touch

What “Estate Planning” Really Means

Estate planning is the legal architecture of your legacy. It determines how your property will be managed during your lifetime, how decisions will be made if you become incapacitated, and how your assets will be distributed after death.

A well-crafted California estate plan typically includes:

• Revocable Living Trust – Avoids probate and centralizes management of your assets.

• Pour-Over Will – Ensures any assets left outside the trust are transferred into it.

• Durable Power of Attorney – Authorizes a trusted person to handle financial matters if you become incapacitated.

• Advance Health Care Directive – Outlines your medical wishes and names your health care decision-maker.

• HIPAA Authorization – Permits access to medical records for your named agents.

These documents are not stand-alone forms; they’re interdependent instruments that must work together under California’s complex property, tax, and probate laws.

Why “Simple” Estates Rarely Are

Online estate planning services market to people who believe their situation is “simple.” But in California, few estates truly are. Even modest estates often involve issues that software can’t interpret — such as:

• Community property rules for married couples, including transmutation requirements.

• Title mismatches between recorded deeds, refinance documents, and trust schedules.

• Proposition 19 property tax reassessment risks when transferring a home to children.

• Digital assets such as cryptocurrency or online accounts require special access language.

• Blended families, stepchildren, or second marriages that complicate inheritance rights.

• Medi-Cal recovery or incapacity planning that requires coordination with government benefit rules.

A “one-size-fits-all” document generator can’t interpret these legal or human complexities — and often, families don’t realize the oversight until it’s too late.

⚠️ Common Failures in DIY Estate Plans

1. Improper Execution or Witnessing

California’s execution rules are strict. A missing witness, a notary error, or a trust not signed in the right order can render the entire plan unenforceable. Courts have no flexibility to “fix” defective documents.

2. Unfunded Trusts

A trust only works if it owns your assets. DIY plans often skip the step of preparing grant deeds, assigning accounts, or updating beneficiary designations. When this happens, the estate still ends up in probate — often requiring a costly Heggstad Petition (Probate Code §850) to correct the mistake.

3. Contradictory Beneficiary Designations

Bank, retirement, and insurance accounts each have their own beneficiary rules. If these don’t align with your will or trust, the financial institution’s contract prevails — not your wishes.

4. Lack of Incapacity Planning

Many do-it-yourself plans omit durable powers of attorney and health care directives. Without them, loved ones may be forced to petition for a conservatorship, costing thousands of dollars and months of delay.

5. Outdated or Legally Defective Forms

California law evolves. Forms found online may cite repealed statutes or fail to reflect current Probate Code provisions, such as the 2025 small-estate threshold or revised property transfer rules under AB 2016.

💬 A Lawyer’s Perspective: Estate Planning as Strategy, Not Paperwork

Attorneys don’t simply “fill out forms.” We build plans that anticipate human behavior, changing laws, and tax realities. At Moravec, Varga & Mooney, our approach includes:

• Title and funding review to ensure every asset is properly vested in your trust.

• Customized distribution provisions addressing family dynamics, blended families, or dependent beneficiaries.

• Tax coordination, including capital gains basis planning and property tax portability.

• Contingency planning for trustee incapacity, divorce, or litigation.

• Litigation avoidance, drafting with clarity to prevent future disputes among heirs.

Our clients often come to us after a DIY plan fails — and by then, the cost of “fixing” it can exceed what professional planning would have cost in the first place.

When Doing It Yourself Might Be Reasonable

For a few Californians, a self-drafted plan can suffice. It may be appropriate if:

• You have no real property, business interests, or dependent heirs.

• Your estate is under $184,500 (the 2025 small-estate affidavit threshold).

• You are single, with a single adult beneficiary.

• You understand your plan may still require probate.

Even then, it’s wise to have an attorney review your documents for technical compliance — particularly your will’s witnessing and your property titling.

🚫 When DIY Planning Can Be Dangerous

Seek professional legal guidance if:

• You own California real estate or property in multiple states.

• You’re part of a blended family or have minor children.

• You want to avoid probate or qualify for Medi-Cal while protecting assets.

• You hold business interests, rental property, or family partnerships.

• You anticipate conflict among heirs or a potential trust contest.

• You want to integrate asset protection or tax strategies.

These are not “form” issues — they require strategic legal drafting, case law awareness, and coordination with accountants and financial institutions.

The Real Cost of a “Free” Estate Plan

DIY plans often create the very expenses they were meant to avoid. When documents are invalid or incomplete, the result may include:

• A probate proceeding to transfer assets omitted from the trust.

• A petition under Probate Code §850 (Heggstad) to confirm ownership.

• Trust reformation litigation if beneficiaries dispute ambiguous language.

Each of these can cost $10,000 to $25,000 — and can easily delay distribution by a year or more.

In contrast, a professionally prepared estate plan not only avoids these problems but also gives families confidence that their wishes will be honored without conflict.

✅ The Takeaway: Expertise Protects What Matters Most

Estate planning is one of the few legal areas where small mistakes can echo for generations. You can create your own plan — but you can’t create your own expertise.

California’s property and probate laws are intricate, and compliance requires more than forms. A skilled attorney ensures that your documents are valid, enforceable, tax-efficient, and litigation-resistant.

At Moravec, Varga & Mooney, we focus exclusively on California probate, estate, and trust law. Whether you’re creating your first plan, updating an old one, or fixing a DIY trust, we’ll help you protect what you’ve built and preserve it for the people you love.

📞 Call Moravec, Varga & Mooney today to schedule your consultation. Protect your legacy, avoid probate headaches, and give your loved ones peace of mind.