South Carolina Tax Attorney

I recently read an article in Consumer Report’s Money Adviser magazine and it answered a question about whether someone should purchase will making software from the office supply store and create their own willl or should they spend the couple hundred bucks to have an attorney draft their will.

Basically the article hit the high and low points of creating your own will versus having an attorney draft your will and other estate planning documents. The bottom line was that if you have an uncomplicated life and modest assets the potential mistakes from creating your own will would not be enough to offset the attorney fee you paid. However, if you are anything other and uncomplicated and modest, you should definitely consult an attorney to assist with your estate plan.

Discuss what I think. Of course, you know I believe everyone should have an attorney prepare their will for them. What’s the point of preparing a will if you cannot be sure that it is prepared or executed properly? Well, you’ll be dead so you won’t be able to complain about it then, however your devisees may be a little disappointed if the will that left them your entire estate is found to be invalid and they don’t inherit anything (or much less). Many states have vastly different laws regarding the validity of wills or execution requirements making it necessary to have your will examined by a local attorney if you move to another state. In South Carolina, a devisee under the will may not be a witness to the will. How bad would it be if you didn’t know that and let your only surviving relative who you plan to leave everything to witness your will?

I know this is mainly a tax/irs law blog, so I need to make this relate somehow to that topic. If you owe the government a lot of money for back taxes, you should consider hiring an attorney to assist you in determining all of your options and then preparing the proper paperword, making the correct arguments, and represent you well. You may think that you are saving yourself a lot of money, but in the big picture you may actually be costing yourself thousands (or tens of thousands) of dollars. If you are planning on submitting an offer in compromise or installment agreement request and you haven’t been able to get the IRS to work with you, contact an attorney (like me) to assist you in your work with the IRS.

And while I’m on the topic, if you have recently moved to South Carolina, or if you do not have a will at all, please give me a call and set up an appointment to discuss your estate plan. It is not as expensive as you think and it is extremely important to have a will, power of attorney, and a living will (at a minimum) no matter what size estate you are leaving.