Etsy Is Not A Lawyer

You can order a custom gift online in minutes, but trusting an online marketplace with your will is a very different kind of purchase. Greg McIntyre and Haley Matson get blunt about the rising trend of Etsy-style wills and other DIY estate planning documents, and why “I can buy it” is not the same as “I should use it.”

We dig into what people miss when they treat a last will and testament like a simple note. Wills have strict legal requirements, and when those requirements are not met, a court can toss the document entirely. That can leave your property distribution up to North Carolina’s default statutes rather than your personal wishes. We also talk about the accountability gap: with a real attorney-client relationship, you can ask questions, make changes, and know who is responsible for the work.

Then we get into the hidden cost of cheap estate planning. The real bill often shows up later as trust and estate litigation, family conflict, and assets drained by legal fees. Solid estate planning and elder law guidance can protect your loved ones from that chaos and help you plan with long-term care and asset protection in mind.

If you’ve been tempted by an online will, listen closely, then subscribe, share this with a friend who’s procrastinating, and leave a review with your biggest estate planning question.

Transcript

Greg McIntyre 0:12

Hey, I'm thinking about doing my will. I know. I got some really cool stuff on Etsy the other day. I wonder if I can get my will on Etsy. Or maybe another source.

Haley Matson 0:26

Hmm. I feel like you probably shouldn't do that. Even though you can, it doesn't mean you should. It does not mean you should.

SPEAKER_01 0:35

But it's made in uh, you know, I don't know. I don't know where it's made. You know, maybe it's cheaper, something like that.

Haley Matson 0:43

It's made by a non-attorney. I'm not sure there's going to be the required language in there.

Why Accountability Matters

Greg McIntyre 0:48

Yeah, I mean, you know, so just because I can get a customized monogrammed cufflinks, customized monogrammed cufflinks on Etsy, does not mean that I can get my will in a great way or trust something like that on Etsy or any other source or platform. Um, I'm Greg McIntyre. I'm an experienced estate planning and elder law attorney. And this is attorney Haley Madsen, who is also very experienced in what we did. And thank you for joining joining me, Attorney Madsen. Absolutely. Um Attorney Madsen, did you buy anything that you is in your office on Etsy?

Haley Matson 1:37

Um, you know what? I've got this little guy right here.

Greg McIntyre 1:45

You bought that that guy okay.

Haley Matson 1:48

I got him off Etsy, so he's pretty cute. But other than him, nothing, nothing in my possession right now. At home, we had some photos done, like a photo for me and my husband's wedding. Sure. Yeah. Yeah.

Greg McIntyre 2:03

Yeah. But you know, using online sources, uh, Etsy and others, um, you know, relying on those. The question is, um, you know, who has the knowledge? Um, you know, what's the what I value most is the personal relationship and the accountability that I have with the client. So, you know, if you have questions, if we're working together to draft a will, a trust, those things, that's really what's at the center of that. I don't know. Let's say if you really needed to go back and find out why your polar bear only had one eye that you showed me or something like that, right? Who would you hold accountable? Would you be able to get a refund? Would you be able to make changes? Would you be able to, you know, with your will, trust, things like that, who's drafting them? It's not an attorney. There's so many, it blows my mind. It's so important. You've worked your entire life to make a living, to raise a family, to take care of yourself and others, you know, and and and to acquire a few things, right? Okay. Um, after you pay a lot of taxes, right? With the money you get home with. And then you're going to somehow undervalue or underestimate how important estate planning is and avoiding excessive taxation and making sure your assets are distributed the way you want to the loved ones that you have or the causes that you love and support if something happens to you, or protect your assets in a way that allows you to qualify for long-term care benefits instead of losing your home or other retirement things like that. Um it is unwise, and that's being super kind. That's a super kind word to use if you really, really are considering something as extreme as Etsy wills, something like that, right? Like it's inconceivable to me.

The Hidden Cost Of Cheap Wills

Haley Matson 4:27

Like, here's my problem with it is that I think a lot of people don't realize they think a last will and testament is really just like, oh, I can write it on a napkin, I can put it in my diary. But like, we do trust in the state litigation here. We do will caveats. Wills need very specific requirements that if those requirements are not met, the court will not consider it, they'll just throw it out, and then everything that you have, all your property is just gonna be decided by the state of North Carolina instead of your wishes, like just right, by the politicians we all love and trust that have made the statutes that distribute your assets, you know, not the way you want to, but the way they've chosen, right?

Greg McIntyre 5:08

Um and you know, the the real cost when you say that, Haley, I'm almost licking my chops saying, Well, you know, if if we really wanted to do this, we would encourage, if we wanted to make more money as attorneys, if cost is an issue. Number one, it doesn't there, there's rarely a client that we can't service or make the cost make sense. Number two, um the real legal fees for us on the attorney side would be in the massive amount of litigation surrounding this type of will drafting or trust, which I see coming in mass in the future because of the availability, the lack of um oversight, um, you know, the lack of expertise. Um, it's just going to be massive. And we're at the center of that, and we will handle that gladly, okay? Yep. But we would rather see our clients not get into those messes. So, you know, legal services for estate planning are extremely affordable and extremely worth it. And where the client really suffers is when their assets and a lot more of their assets are either sacrificed or dissipate or aren't given, aren't handled the way the way they would have wanted because they've not invested in just basic estate planning.

Haley Matson 6:52

Yeah.

Greg McIntyre 6:53

And then and then their assets are spent on legal fees and in litigation and the families fighting each other and everything. It's like it's the mental, it's the emotional, it's the destructive cost, including the monetary sacrifice of assets, right? The the actual money cost in not engaging in just basic reliable estate planning. So, you know, while it blows my mind uh and probably maddens me to no end, um, there's a a silver lining for us on the back end if you choose not to do it.

Haley Matson 7:28

Yeah.

Family Fallout And Final Takeaway

Greg McIntyre 7:29

Um, because somebody's going to be handling that litigation um over the distribution of your assets and the mess that was made. I would rather not make a mess. I'm a neat freak, so so I would rather you get your estate plan in order ahead of time. And attorney Madsen, I think we've beat this dead horse enough, okay? You know, Etsy is good for arts and crafts and other trinkets and knickknacks. However, not for your wills or trust documents. And I would say the same is true for any other online source where you can't sit down face to face with the attorney and do business and talk about it and and and make sure you have someone that's accountable, professional, and knowledgeable in that area.

Haley Matson 8:19

Yep, for sure. Totally agree.

Greg McIntyre 8:22

Thank you so much, attorney Matton, and you have a great day.

Haley Matson 8:25

Thank you. Bye.