I am always amazed by the number of professionals who themselves do not seek out professional services.  Truthfully, I should not be amazed because I fall into this category myself.  After many years of meaning to get around to it and updating our estate plan to fit the current needs of our life, my husband and I finally sat down to do just that.  It was not that complicated, and we both felt at ease now having “our affairs in order.”

We are not the only professional couples that either put off or neglect estate planning.   I know several couples, personally and professionally, who were or are in the same category; however, I would argue that my husband and I deserve special commendation for our neglect, as we are both attorneys, and my practice involves creating estate plans for my clients.  I am engaging in a bit of self-shaming for an important reason.  Be they lawyers, doctors, business owners, or professors, there are a lot of smart people out there who either do not have an estate plan in place or desperately need an update.    Learn by our example!

More concerning is that some of these smart folks think they can do it on their own.  The Internet is a perfect tool for many things:  checking the weather forecast, making dinner reservations, or trying to remember an actor’s name from a movie you saw in 1983.  These are all good and worthy uses of the Internet.  The Internet is not suitable for self-diagnosing serious illnesses or finding personalized tax advice.  Similarly, it is not a good place to find the documents and resources to craft the estate plan you and your family need.

To all the professionals out there: get professional help.