Don’t Try This at Home: The Risks of Trying to Revise Your Will or Trust Without an Attorney

Recently, we’ve had several new matters involving individuals who attempted to revise their estate planning documents without the assistance of an attorney. The results were disastrous for their estates.
 
As we have discussed in this previous post, estate plans are intended to be fluid; we highly recommend reviewing and revising your plan every few years or as new life circumstances arise. When you find that it is time to make changes to your plan, it may be tempting to avoid the cost and hassle of engaging an attorney for what seem like simple little amendments. But trying to modify your documents on your own almost always ends poorly.  In most cases, the desired changes are unenforceable because they do not comply with legal requirements. The unenforceable attempted changes then lead to confusion and potential conflict among your beneficiaries and an estate plan that no longer reflects your wishes.
 
Idaho law requires that individuals seeking to amend a Will, Trust, and other estate planning documents follow certain legal formalities. Primary among these are verification requirements intended to ensure that you – and not someone pretending to be you – are the person making the changes, that you have the mental capacity to revise your documents, and that the changes reflect your wishes. These formalities require more than simply typing up an amendment or initialing a change. By consulting with an attorney, you ensure that your revisions are legally enforceable and achieve your goals.  
 
If you aren’t yet convinced, here are a couple cautionary tales illustrating the perils of trying to revise your documents without the assistance of a qualified attorney:

"James"

James prepared a Will in 2018 that left all of his assets to his three brothers in equal shares.  A week after James finalized his documents, he decided he wanted to leave his house to his younger brother Fred, who did not yet own a home and with whom James had a closer relationship.

James did not want to “bother” his attorney with this change after having just finalized his Will so he decided to make the change on his own. Using the Personal Property Distribution Form, James handwrote: “I leave my house to my brother Fred.” Then he signed and dated the form. 

James died unexpectedly the next year. When Fred took James’s Will to an attorney to be probated, he was informed by the attorney that James’s revision gifting his house to Fred was unenforceable because it did not meet the legal requirements for amending a Will. 

If James had consulted with an attorney, he would have been told that the Personal Property Distribution Form is only for distributing “personal property” – items you can touch and hold such as jewelry, furniture, collectibles – and not for large assets like a home. An attorney would also have told him that under Idaho law, changes to a Will must be signed in front of two witnesses and a notary public. 

"Carlos"

Carlos had an attorney prepare a Revocable Trust for him in 2004. In 2019, Carlos’s youngest son David asked to borrow $25,000 to start a business. Carlos was happy to loan his son the money but wanted to make sure this amount was deducted from David’s share of the inheritance in order to be fair to his other children. The attorney who had prepared Carlos’s trust had retired. Rather than trying to find a new attorney, Carlos decided he would save some money and make the change himself. On his computer, Carlos typed out a document stating his wish that the loan to his son David be deducted from David’s share of the estate. On this document, Carlos typed his full name. He printed the document but did not sign it in ink.

When Carlos died a few years later, Carlos’s children found his Will and the type-written amendment. The type-written amendment was invalid, however, because the terms of Carlos’s trust stated that any amendments had to be signed, dated, and notarized. Predictably, an argument resulted between David and his siblings, who felt that David should honor his father’s wishes. David did not agree to deduct his loan from his share of the inheritance and his siblings had no legal recourse.

Not only was Carlos’s estate distributed contrary to his wishes but, more importantly, due to the conflict created by the unenforceable amendment, Carlos’s children remain on bad terms, the last thing Carlos would have wanted.

Don’t risk finding yourself in this situation. If you or a loved one want to change your estate planning documents, make sure to consult with a qualified attorney to ensure you make your changes properly.