In an effort to save a few dollars, some Floridians opt for  “do it yourself” estate planning. Using pre-formatted Florida wills or a document preparation service, which generally entails filling in the blanks, often leaves leaves heirs embroiled in hefty probate aftermath.

David Goldman, an attorney based out of Jacksonville, Florida is a living testimony of such cases. Quite often, testators have no idea how the most minor overlooked detail can become paramount, turning into a lengthy and expensive probate process.

Long Duong, an attorney who specializes in Florida wills, shares that an invalidly executed document ended up costing the beneficiaries more than $75,000.

In another case of a will executed by software, a Californian man passed away, leaving his estate for five individuals to divide. The problem is that the will not identify the beneficiary for his home. The widow did not have the right to remain in the home without buying an additional interest, or having to vacate the  property.

When Florida wills have an improper self-proving affidavit, a law firm h –in turn has to spend time validating the accuracy, consuming more time and expenses for the probate process.

Florida wills, generated by software, are often too general, omitting vital details. For instance, two children paid $100,000 in legal fees to resolve an inheritance left by their late stepmother . While the Florida will was written that the woman’s “children” were the beneficiaries, the children were never legally adopted.

Although writing a Florida will using a software program or  an online document service appear to be straightforward, nothing substitutes the review and advice of a Florida estate planning attorney, saving heirs thousands of dollars in litigation costs. If you’ve been the victim or the legal advisor to estate planning gone wrong, share and post your experiences below.