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Are online legal services OK for getting simple documents like living wills?

Public Comments

1. It depends on the state. For the best results, go to your local library and to the legal section. There you will find up top date books with the forms. People often underestimate the simplicity of law. Simply type or hand write that form, pay the required fee and it will become a legal and binding document.
2. Do you mean services that are free, or services that you pay for online? I would say there are so many laws and they vary so greatly depending upon where you live that you may want to just ask a "real," local attorney before doing anything.
3. sure,you can save tons of money that way and they are a good way for simple things like wills, bills of sale,etc. here's the best site with state specific forms.you can download form for a small fee or they will do it for you also. www.uslegalforms.com
4. I would recommend strongly against it. As an elder law attorney, I have seen too many cases where a decedent had a "will" he got off the internet. Invariably, even if the contents of the document are okay, it is witnessed incorrectly: some witnesses are beneficiaries, there is a notary where there shouldn't be, and there are too few witnesses. And frequently the text of the document contains errors. I have seen houses listed as "personal property" and distribution schemes that make no sense. The same is true, even of health care proxies and living wills. Documents that survive a person and are meant to relay a person's wishes after he is incapable of communicating (or dead) are very important. There are strict rules as to what they must say, how they must say it, and how they are to be executed. This is to make sure that these really are the wishes of the person in question without doubt or ambiguity. Moreover, each state has its own rules. A form and instructions you find online may be fine for California but worthless in Florida. After the individual is rendered incompetent or after he dies, you will not get another chance to do things right. Go to an elder law attorney and get this taken care of properly. Or, if you really want, don't spend the money now, wait until it's too late and pay me tens of thousands to fix the problems you created.
5. If you want a living will, check with your local hospital, they may have free copies of fill in the black they will give you. Next any book store or office supply store has copies for sale.