In a country that loves litigation as much as we do, most outsiders would expect lawyers to come at a dime a dozen. How else can the average person afford legal services? Unfortunately, for Tampa residents and people throughout the US, the answer is fast becoming that they can’t. Lawyers fees are constantly going up, and they were never all that low.
The problem is that litigation is far from the only reason people need lawyers. Everyone needs a last will and testament. Most people would benefit from having a designated proxy for both health and financial issues. These require legally-binding documents. The lack of affordability in the legal space has led many people to put off taking care of these crucial matters.
Consider the price of a lawyer in Tampa. The typical lawyer here charges over $200 per hour (and that is on the low end). The estimated cost of writing a will with a lawyer is $338. That is simply not something most people can afford. The average base salary in Tampa is $67,000 a year, which amounts to around $5,500 a month. Of course, it will vary greatly depending on your profession.
Either way, most Tampa residents are not bringing home thousands of dollars of disposable income. Even those who can afford the cost of writing a will with a lawyer will feel the impact on their pocket and may have to sacrifice other expenses.
For this reason, locals are looking elsewhere for these services. It turns out that some legal services do not really require the presence of a professional. This is particularly true when it comes to straightforward documents like wills.
Can Online Will Makers Help?
Over the past few years, people noticed this gap in the market and created a range of online will makers. These are websites which automatically draft a will for you using AI. You input what you wish to happen when you die, and the software writes it into a template. This template uses all the legalese necessary to ensure that your words will not be misconstrued or misinterpreted.
This is possible because a will is not a complicated document. Technically, you could write a will on a napkin and sign it in front of a witness to make it legally binding. A lawyer will be able to tell you what to include in your will and they will write up the document for you, but this is the sort of job they use their own templates for.
Using an online will maker is a cheap alternative that gets the job done just as well. The best will makers offer an added service of having a legal professional look over your will to ensure no mistakes have been made.
One of the benefits of using an online will maker is that they allow you a number of free revisions. So, if you change your mind at some point about what you want in your will, you can edit your will without having to pay a lawyer’s fees yet again. The reason many people don’t update their wills is because they cannot afford to go back to a lawyer.
It is not just wills that are available through these services. Another popular document that follows a particular template is the granting of power of attorney. A power of attorney document dictates who you want to make decisions for you if you are incapacitated. There are separate power of attorney documents for health matters and financial matters.
This is another document that just about everyone would have if it was more readily accessible and affordable. Online document sites provide these services at a minimal cost and with minimal effort.
The Best Online Legal Sites
There are some excellent, well-known online legal sites available for Tampa residents. When comparing the best, LegalZoom vs Nolo comes to mind. They are two services which provide online wills and other documents at great prices and with great efficacy.
An online will with Nolo will cost you just $59.99. This is a fraction of the price of writing a will with the help of a lawyer. Their package pricing is particularly worth noting, however, because of the additional services you can get for a relatively low price. They will provide you with the software to create a will, medical and durable powers of attorney, living will, living trust, a final arrangements document, and a letter to survivors for just $129.
Even LegalZoom, which is the more expensive service, charges just $89 for a basic last will. This is still significantly cheaper than getting it done by a lawyer, and is less likely to break your budget for the month. It will also leave you in a better position to adjust your will when your life circumstances change. Life changes a lot as the years pass, and you may be adjusting your will for decades to suit who you become.
Another excellent online will making service is Rocket Lawyer. As with Nolo, they provide packages that incorporate everything you will need. The benefit with Rocket Lawyer is that they offer a subscription service for just under $40 a month. When you are a member, you can create legal documents for you and your family, and you can cancel your membership when you no longer need it.
There are many alternatives, each with their own pros and cons, but all will be more affordable and more accessible than seeing a lawyer. Make sure that if you are getting an online will in Florida, the site you use caters to the state. Also, if you are concerned about doing this alone, find a service that specifically offers the perspective of a lawyer on your final product at a low price.
The simple reality is that lawyers are no longer necessary for straightforward legal documents. They have been using templates in any case, while charging exorbitant fees. The average Tampa resident just cannot afford these fees. Getting an online will in Florida renders the need for a lawyer moot. Instead of putting off writing these important documents until you have some extra money available, you can get them done right away.