When people start thinking seriously about getting their affairs in order, one of the first questions they reach is whether they need a lawyer to write a will or whether one of the many online document services will do the job. The template services are inexpensive and easy to access. That accessibility is appealing, but the question of whether they actually work depends entirely on the complexity of the person’s situation, and most people significantly underestimate that complexity until they are partway through the process.
At Mandelbaum Barrett PC, the firm’s trusts and estates attorneys have worked with individuals and families throughout New Jersey and New York on wills, trusts, and comprehensive estate plans. This overview addresses the practical question of when legal counsel makes a meaningful difference and what tends to go wrong when a will is prepared without it.
What Makes a Will Valid in New Jersey
The formal requirements for a valid will in New Jersey are relatively straightforward. The person making the will must have testamentary capacity, meaning they must know what property they have, what it means to leave it to someone, and who their natural heirs are. The document must be signed by the testator and witnessed by at least two individuals who are not beneficiaries under the will. New Jersey also recognizes holographic wills, which are entirely handwritten and do not require witnesses, but these are significantly more likely to be challenged in probate.
Meeting the formal execution requirements does not mean the will accomplishes what the person intended. A document can be validly executed and still fail to address the person’s actual estate in a way that produces the outcome they wanted. That gap is where problems develop.
When a Template Is Not Sufficient
Do-it-yourself will services work adequately in the narrowest of circumstances: modest property, no significant savings or investment accounts, and a simple family structure with no complications. For the broader population, at least one factor typically pushes the situation beyond what a generic template can handle.
Guidance from USA.gov notes that while the legal requirements for a basic will are not highly technical, ensuring the document reflects a person’s actual situation and intentions requires working through a range of issues that standard templates do not surface. Those issues include potential estate tax exposure at the state or federal level, coordination between the will and beneficiary designations on retirement accounts and life insurance policies, planning for blended families or children from prior relationships, and provisions for beneficiaries who have special needs or who may be unable to manage an inheritance directly.
Research on self-prepared wills has consistently found that they increase the likelihood of probate litigation, particularly when the document’s terms are ambiguous, when it was not updated to reflect changes in the estate, or when it conflicts with account-level beneficiary designations that control the distribution of assets outside the will.
What an Estate Plan Actually Involves
Working with an estate planning attorney is not simply about producing a correctly drafted will. It is about reviewing the full picture of a person’s assets and family situation to identify every aspect that needs to be addressed, then building a plan that covers all of it in a coordinated way.
For many people, a comprehensive estate plan includes more than a will. A revocable living trust can avoid probate, maintain privacy, and provide continuity of asset management in the event of incapacity. A durable power of attorney designates someone to manage financial affairs if a person becomes unable to do so. A healthcare proxy and advance directive address medical decision-making and end-of-life preferences. Beneficiary designations on retirement accounts and life insurance must be coordinated with the rest of the plan to ensure assets pass as intended.
The Cost of Getting It Wrong
A will that was not drafted to reflect the person’s actual circumstances can produce outcomes the person would not have chosen: assets passing in ways that create tax exposure, distributions that disqualify a beneficiary with special needs from public benefits they depend on, or provisions that are ambiguous enough to prompt litigation among the people who survive them.
Contested estate proceedings can be expensive, time-consuming, and destructive to family relationships. The cost of working with an attorney to create a plan that works correctly is typically far less than the cost of addressing problems that arise from a plan that does not.
Contact Mandelbaum Barrett PC for Estate Planning Guidance
Whether you are creating a will for the first time or reviewing an existing plan that may no longer reflect your circumstances, the attorneys at Mandelbaum Barrett PC are here to help. The firm’s trusts and estates team works with individuals and families to build comprehensive plans that are clear, coordinated, and aligned with their actual goals.
To schedule a consultation, contact Mandelbaum Barrett PC today. Our team is ready to assist with your estate planning needs.