You have probably seen the ads. “Create your will in 10 minutes.” “Estate planning for $199.” A growing number of online platforms now promise to handle your estate plan without a lawyer. They are fast, heavily marketed, and easy to find.
For some people, they might be fine. For most New York and New Jersey families, they are not.
Here is what those platforms will not tell you.
AT A GLANCE
- Online will generators are designed for simple, single-state, standard scenarios. Most NY/NJ families are more complicated than that.
- A generic will does not include Medicaid planning. If you own a home and might need long-term care, a will alone does not protect you.
- New York and New Jersey have specific execution requirements for wills. A document drafted incorrectly or signed without proper witnesses is invalid.
- DIY trusts are riskier than DIY wills. An unfunded or improperly drafted trust does nothing.
- The cost of a mistake is not $199. It is the value of whatever your family loses.
WHAT ONLINE WILL GENERATORS ACTUALLY DO
These platforms use questionnaire-based tools to generate standard legal documents. You answer questions about your assets, your family, and your wishes. The platform produces a will, sometimes a basic trust, and possibly a power of attorney.
These tools have real value for young, single adults with minimal assets and no complex family situations. If you are 28, have $12,000 in savings, no children, and want to leave everything to a sibling, an online tool probably covers your needs.
But you are probably not that person.
WHERE THEY FALL SHORT FOR NY AND NJ FAMILIES
New York and New Jersey have specific execution requirements. A will in New York must be signed in the presence of two witnesses who are not beneficiaries, and those witnesses must sign in the presence of each other and the testator. N.Y. Est. Powers & Trusts Law § 3-2.1. An online platform generates a document. It does not supervise execution. Many families complete the form, print it, sign it at the kitchen table, and believe they have a valid will. If the execution was improper, the will may be invalid and the estate passes under intestacy rules, which may not match what the client wanted at all.
They do not do Medicaid planning. This is the biggest gap. If you own a home in Queens or Nassau County and might someday need nursing home or home care, a basic will does not protect your home from Medicaid estate recovery. A will tells the state who gets your assets after you die. Medicaid recovery happens before your beneficiaries receive anything. A will is not the tool for this problem.
Trusts require funding. An online-generated revocable trust is a piece of paper until assets are transferred into it. Many families pay for a trust document, sign it, and never retitle their home, bank accounts, or investment accounts into the trust. The trust then does nothing. Administering an estate for someone whose trust was never funded is one of the more frustrating things we see. The family paid for planning, did not get planning, and now faces probate anyway.
They cannot catch what you do not know to mention. Estate planning questionnaires ask the questions their developers anticipated. They do not know that your parent received a gift of real property in Korea. They do not know that one child is estranged and a no-contest clause matters. They do not know that you own a co-op and the building’s proprietary lease has transfer restrictions. A good attorney asks follow-up questions. A form does not.
A REAL EXAMPLE OF HOW THIS GOES WRONG
We worked with a family in Bergen County whose father had completed a “comprehensive estate plan” through an online platform before his death. The documents were executed correctly, which was fortunate. But the online plan did not include any Medicaid planning. When the father passed, the estate owed Medicaid approximately $210,000 in recovery claims against his home. The online plan did nothing to prevent this.
The family was not careless. They had paid for what they thought was a real estate plan. They just did not know the difference between an estate plan and a Medicaid-protected estate plan. Nobody told them.
WHEN AN ONLINE TOOL IS PROBABLY FINE
We are not dismissing these tools entirely. For a young professional with a simple life and basic needs, a will and basic power of attorney from a reputable platform is better than no documents at all. The documents you actually have are better than the perfect documents you never get around to making.
But if you own real estate, have significant assets, may need long-term care, have a blended family, have assets in another country, or care about Medicaid eligibility, an online tool is not the right tool. The price difference between a platform subscription and a real estate plan is real. The risk of getting it wrong is also real, and in most cases, larger.
WE HELP FAMILIES GET ESTATE PLANNING RIGHT THE FIRST TIME
If you started with an online tool and want to make sure your plan is actually complete, we can review it. If you are starting fresh, we can build a plan that reflects your actual life, not a template.
This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Please consult a qualified attorney for guidance specific to your situation.
