Beware of “Probate Paralegals” that offer to help you draft your will WITHOUT an attorney!

I was reading an article from a local newspaper about “probate paralegals” that some people were hiring via sites like craigslist to help in their South Florida Estate Plans. You should know the facts and the dangers of hiring a non-lawyer professional in your Florida will drafting. Whats the worst that could happen? For one, that will may not get admitted to probate. Whats the best that could happen? You saved a few bucks. Is it all worth it?

• First of all, this not a knock on paralegals, Paralegals do great work and without them the modern lawfirm could not function. Truly these great workers are behind the scenes making most law firms function smoothly, but they are not probate lawyers. Put another way, just ask them if they will go to court for you– they wont, moreso, they cant!
• “Probate paralegal” is not an official title recognized by the courts or the Florida Bar, there is no course these people are taking to be proficient and there is no degree or certification process to make someone more versed in probate than the average laymen, short of becoming a lawyer. 
• Paralegals are not qualified to give you legal advice and the things that you do pursuant to their advice could have you on the hook for whatever penalties those actions merit.

Whats the worst that could happen? Glad you asked.

1. Your last will and testament, could be executed improperly for a number of reasons and it could be denied admission to probate and now you do not have a counsel standing ready to defend the will. Not much you can do about it either, your already gone right otherwise why would the will be filed?
2. You may be subjected to various creditor claims that otherwise would have be stale. You may fail to give creditors notice meaning their rights to a claim are preserved essentially forever, this also puts the PR on the hook if they divide the estate up and close it before these creditors get their notice.
3. You may find that there were hearing scheduled by the judge that you were never told about.
4. The type of probate administraion may be misclassified and your vast estate may be subject to informal probate. 

So many clients start off their consultations the same way they like to think that their case is “simple” and that its just going to be a matter of forms to sign, nothing can be further from the truth. There is a reason there is not a “make a will” app released by Florida for everyone, its just not that simple! These “probate paralegals” may convince you otherwise but I hope you will contact an experienced Probate lawyer in Florida.