After seeing how cool the charging station was, I of course had to order one for my home.  I went on Amazon and ordered one right away.  I didn’t check to see if it was the same one, it looked like it so I figured it was fine.  When I took it out of the box and plugged it in, I was baffled.  There were no charging cords for the different kinds of phones.  I didn’t read the fine print to see that the model that I had ordered didn’t come with cords, the cords were sold separately.  In order to make it work, I had to place two more orders – one for iPhone cords and one for Android cords.  I didn’t feel so great about my charging station after placing those orders.  Yes, it does what I want it to do and it is helpful. I just didn’t like feeling like I paid for one thing and then got something that I had to pay more for to have it work the way I wanted.

That is how many people feel about their estate plan.  I have had many people tell me that they did a will to avoid probate – wills do not avoid probate.  Or that their parents set up a trust and after their deaths there was still a probate because the trust wasn’t properly funded.  Or that they call their estate planning attorney to ask a question about their plan and were then sent a bill for the attorney’s time.  No one likes to pay for something and have it not work the way they thought it would work.  And no one likes to pay for something they think is complete, just to find out that there are more things they need to buy to make it work the way they want. 

Estate planning attorneys and services are not all alike.  You need to know what you are paying for, what is included with the amount you pay, and that there is support behind the plan if you or your family need it. Otherwise, you may be getting something that looked good but is disappointing when you go to use it.