The Cost of a Cheap Plan: Why “Bargain” Estate Planning Often Costs the Most
One of our attorneys had an interesting conversation with a potential client last week. After explaining our process, she said, "This all sounds great, but my friend told me I can get a trust done for half the price somewhere else."
We hear this fairly often, and we completely understand the concern. Nobody wants to overpay for anything—especially legal services. But here’s what we’ve learned after years of helping families: when it comes to estate planning, the cheapest option often ends up being the most expensive mistake you can make.
Let’s explain what we mean.
You’re Not Comparing the Same Thing
When someone tells you they can create estate planning documents for less money, they’re usually not wrong about the price - if they think estate planning is about creating a set of documents. You absolutely can find attorneys who will draft basic documents, a will, trust, power of attorney or healthcare directive, for about half the cost of planning with Simpson Law Firm.
But here’s the problem: you’re not comparing the same service.
It’s like hiring the lowest bidder to fix your leaky roof. At first glance, the work looks fine. The leak is patched, the price is right, and you’re feeling good about the money you saved. But then the next storm hits. Water pours in. The drywall buckles. Mold sets in. Suddenly, you’re not just fixing a small leak—you’re replacing insulation, tearing out walls, and repairing the foundation. You may even lose valuables that can never be replaced. The “cheap” fix ends up costing many times more than doing it right the first time.
In short, you get what you pay for.
Estate planning works the same way. But it’s worse because that storm doesn’t come while you can still fix the problems. It comes after you’ve become incapacitated or died, and it’s too late. The people you love most are left with that set of documents you got from the lawyer who charged them less. They have nowhere to turn because that lawyer is now out of business, or doesn’t handle incapacity or post-death matters, and never kept your plan up to date, really got to know you or what mattered to you, and has no idea what you even own.
A basic set of documents may look fine now, but when life’s “storm” comes—an illness, incapacity, or your death—your loved ones could be left cleaning up a mess that’s far more expensive, stressful, and time-consuming than you would have ever imagined, and so much more expensive that if you had invested the time and money to create an estate plan to begin with.
This is the difference between creating generational wealth and leaving your family with generations of trauma, or even just expensive, time-consuming problems that hurt them financially and emotionally.
What a Cheap Plan Really Gives You
When you try to save money on a cheap estate plan—whether it’s from a low-fee lawyer, an online service, or a downloadable form—what you’re getting usually looks something like this:
A set of documents created from standard templates
They’re often filled in with your name, your basic wishes, and the names of your heirs—but they’re not customized to your unique family dynamics, your specific assets, or the real-world scenarios your loved ones might face. The creator of those documents, whether a lawyer who doesn’t really dig into the details of your life, or a software program that can’t, simply doesn’t know enough about you or what matters to you to create documents that will achieve your objectives.
No follow-through on your assets
Your legal documents may tell people where things should go, but they won’t make sure your assets are titled correctly or that your beneficiary designations match your wishes. If those things aren’t aligned, your plan may fail entirely. Unfortunately, most lawyers' processes don’t involve actually helping you change over title to your assets, update beneficiary designations or track what you own and how that changes throughout life. Lawyers creating cheap plans for your neighbors simply can’t afford to provide these kinds of services, and so their plans fail. You may want to tell your neighbors.
No plan for minor children
If you have minor children in your life, this one is critical. Even if your will names a guardian, cheap plans rarely address the legal and practical steps to ensure your children are raised by the people you choose, in the way you choose, with the financial support your guardians will need. Cheap plans also won’t guard against your children ending up in the care of strangers, even if it’s for a short time. If you want to know more about this, ask us about our Minor Protection Plan. It lays out all the details of how most plans fail families with minor children in temporary situations and circumstances, or those who could be dependent for life with a special needs challenge.
You don’t really understand your choices.
We’ve seen it time and again: people go in and meet with a lawyer, sign documents, and really have no idea what they signed, just trusting the lawyer took care of it. But the lawyer didn’t take care of it, and didn’t even give them all of their choices in a way that was clear and understandable. This is why we have “sliding scale/choose your own fee” pricing that’s based on what matters most to you, not a single fee for a set of documents. The choices you make within your plan, such as whether to include asset protection or not (and when that matters, why and whether it’s important to you) are some of the most critical choices you can make, but you need to be able to understand them and the “cheap plan” lawyers simply don’t know how (or don’t have the time) to explain your options in a way that ensures you understand.
A one-time transaction
Once you sign the papers, the relationship is over. The plan isn’t revisited, your questions don’t get answered, and there’s no system to update anything as your life changes. Your estate plan goes on a shelf or in a drawer, never to be looked at again - until something happens and your loved ones need to try to locate it.
This is significant because if your plan doesn’t resemble your life and assets when you die or become incapacitated, it won’t work and your loved ones will end up with a time consuming and expensive mess.
Ask your friend who got the cheap plan if their lawyer has a process in place for updating their plan over time, proactively, and consistently?
No help for your family when the time comes
Your loved ones are left to figure out how to use the documents, navigate the court process if necessary, and manage assets—often while they’re grieving. They will probably spend their nonrenewable resources of time, energy and attention trying to figure out what to do and how to do it, missing work, time with their children, or participating in hobbies that rejuvenate them.
Why This Matters Now
If you’re now thinking, “I want to partner plan with Simpson Law Firm, but maybe I’ll just start with a cheap plan and ‘upgrade’ it later,” let us know and we can discuss how to get started now with the least expensive plan possible with our office and we can absolutely get started with the simplest, most basic option now and upgrade in the future.
It’s also critical to remember that we aren’t guaranteed the future. That’s why we plan now. Legacy isn’t created after we are gone. It’s created in the day to day, moment to moment, choices we make now that leave the world a better (or worse) place after we are gone. We work with people everyday who are reeling from the effects of an unexpected death, or who are preparing after a crushing diagnosis. The truth is we will all die, we just don’t know when. But with proactive estate planning, our lives become better and death isn’t something to fear.
If you die with an incomplete, cheap plan in place, it could fail, and your family doesn’t get a do-over. They’re left dealing with financial and emotional chaos - when they’re grieving and least able to handle it.
A good roof isn’t just there for sunny days. It’s built and maintained to handle the worst weather. Your estate plan should be no different.
Your Next Step
If you’ve been comparing prices, we encourage you to also compare outcomes. Ask not just, “What does it cost today?” but “What will it cost the people I love later, if it fails?” Peace of mind and false security are two very different things.
As your estate planning partner, Simpson Law Firm will help you create a comprehensive estate plan that will work, when your loved ones need it. Our process ensures that your assets are protected, you and your loved ones understand the plan, and every three (3) years we offer Life Change Check-ins with you—so you never have to worry about a costly mistake derailing your family's future.
Schedule your complimentary estate planning session by clicking the link below, and let’s create a plan that will provide true peace of mind, and stand strong for the people you love most.
This article is a service of Simpson Law Firm. We do not just draft documents; we ensure you make informed and empowered decisions about life and death for yourself and the people you love. We offer an Estate Planning session, during which you will get more financially organized than you’ve ever been before and we will assist you in making all the best choices for the people you love. You can begin by contacting us here, https://simpsonestatelaw.com/contact-us or calling us at 803-764-9555, and one of our friendly client service assistants will help you set up your consultation.
The content is sourced from Personal Family Lawyer® for use by Personal Family Lawyer firms, a source believed to be providing accurate information. This material was created for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as ERISA, tax, legal, or investment advice. If you are seeking legal advice specific to your needs, such advice services must be obtained on your own separate from this educational material.