You’ve probably seen those fill-in-the-blank wills online that promise “peace of mind” in minutes. Some cost nothing. Others charge less than a dinner out. A few even market themselves with sleek language about being “lawyer-approved.” Sounds tempting, right?
Until life throws a real problem your way.
Wills aren’t just about what happens when you’re gone. They’re about how your family moves forward when you’re not there to help them. A cheap, DIY will might feel like progress, but if it isn’t done properly, it can do more harm than good. And once you're gone, it's your loved ones who deal with the fallout.
This blog breaks down what DIY wills really include (and what they dangerously leave out), how a single missing sentence can unravel your whole plan, and why real families have ended up in court over simple mistakes. If you’re considering using Google to plan your estate, this is the reality check you didn’t know you needed.
What a DIY Will Really Covers and What It Doesn’t
A quick online search for “simple will template” can yield thousands of results. Most look clean and easy. They ask for your name, your beneficiaries, and a few decisions. You fill it out, sign it, and tuck it away in a drawer. Done, right?
Here’s what a DIY will usually includes:
- Your basic identifying information
- A list of people or charities who should receive your assets
- The name of a person you want to act as executor
- Possibly, who you’d like to be the guardian for minor children
Here’s what it usually doesn’t include:
- Clear instructions for debts, taxes, or final expenses
- Specific plans for blended families or estranged relatives
- Detailed guardianship provisions beyond just naming someone
- Contingency planning (what happens if someone named in the will dies before you?)
- Language to handle digital assets or business interests
- Provisions to avoid probate disputes
Most DIY wills treat your estate like a straight line: You die, someone reads your wishes, and assets are handed out. Done. But estate planning is rarely a straight line. Life’s messier than that.
That’s where the cracks begin to show. And they only get wider from here.
How One Missing Clause Can Cost Your Family Everything
Let’s say you fill out a DIY will and name your daughter as the main beneficiary. You trust her. She’ll do the right thing. You don’t worry about it too much.
But you forget, or the form never asked, about what happens if she dies before you. Or what happens if she’s alive, but legally incapacitated? Or what if someone challenges your will?
The missing clause could be anything:
- No “residuary clause” to cover unmentioned property
- No alternate beneficiary named
- No reference to common law or state-specific probate rules
- No “no-contest” clause to deter disputes
And suddenly, your daughter’s inheritance is in limbo. Or worse, it’s contested. The court gets involved. Legal fees start adding up. Family tensions rise. The process drags on, and what could have been resolved with the right sentence in a valid, well-drafted will turns into a courtroom drama.
This isn't an exaggeration because DIY wills are designed for ideal scenarios. But most families are anything but simple. And life never sticks to the script.
Real-Life Will Disasters That Could Have Been Avoided
Every one of these outcomes could have been prevented with a proper estate plan. The issue wasn’t that they didn’t have wills. The issue was that the wills they had weren’t enough.
Let's take a look at three examples:
Case 1: The Forgotten Heir
A man used a free will template he found online. Named his wife as the beneficiary. Easy. Clean. They never had kids. But he had a son from a relationship years before someone he hadn’t seen in decades. That son wasn’t named in the will, but because state law didn’t recognize the DIY document as valid, the estate was treated as if there were no will at all. The son inherited everything. His wife got nothing.
Case 2: The Handwritten Note
A woman wrote a will by hand. It was witnessed, kind of. Two neighbors signed, but not at the same time. The law in her state required simultaneous witnessing. The will was thrown out. Her estranged siblings, whom she had intentionally excluded, contested it and won.
Case 3: The Family Feud
A father filled out a DIY will and named his two daughters as co-executors. There was no clause explaining how decisions should be made if they disagreed. And they disagreed about everything. The probate judge ended up appointing a neutral third party to take over. That decision came with court fees, delays, and an outsider distributing family property with no personal knowledge of their wishes.
Why Online Templates Can’t Handle Real People Problems
The truth is, a form doesn’t know your life.
It doesn’t know:
- That your nephew is terrible with money, but still needs to be provided for
- That your daughter is on disability and can’t receive assets outright without losing benefits
- That you own property in more than one state
- That your spouse’s kids from a previous marriage don’t speak to your kids
- That your business has multiple partners and no formal succession plan
None of that shows up in a checkbox.
Online templates don’t ask follow-up questions. They don’t know when your answers contradict each other. They don’t catch legal errors or tailor your plan to fit your values. And they certainly don’t stand in court if someone tries to challenge your decisions.
What looks like a bargain now can become a burden later.
Even the most sophisticated “AI-powered” will sites still rely on you knowing the right questions to ask and understanding what your answers mean legally. That’s a high bar for someone trying to avoid court drama, not dive into it.
And another thing is that estate planning isn’t about filling in blanks. It’s about solving problems before they happen.
How an Estate Planning Attorney Makes a Difference
An estate planning attorney doesn’t just draft documents. They ask hard questions. They dig deeper. They notice where your answers might contradict your intentions, and they help you fix them.
They look at your family dynamics, your goals, your assets, and your concerns, and create a plan that fits all of it.
Here’s what that can look like from Letterio & Haug, LLP:
- Crafting a trust for a child with special needs
- Structuring inheritance to reduce the chances of family conflict
- Planning for taxes, Medicaid, or long-term care
- Naming backup agents, guardians, and fiduciaries you trust
- Making sure your will, trust, power of attorney, and healthcare directives all work together
And if something ever does go wrong, the documents we draft are designed to hold up in court. They're built not just to state your wishes, but to protect them.
Google can give you a form. But it can’t walk your family through a crisis. We can.
If you're serious about making things easier and not harder for the people you care about, talk to us who understand the law, understand the process, and most importantly, understand you.
Your future deserves more than a template. Give your loved ones something better.
Need help building an estate plan that truly protects your family? Reach out to us at (845) 203-0997 or fill out our online form to get started.