Does a will created by LegalZoom hold up in court and is it leglly valid?

Bad, bad idea. You are proving the point as to why people should steer clear of self-help. Why mess with these do it yourself things when you have no assurance as to whether you have a valid document in the end. Do it right; get with an estates attorney to assist you. It is not that expensive and clearly not as expensive if your family argues over a do it yourself document. For the reasons why you need more than just a will please read my legal guide entitled Estate Planning Mistakes: 5 Not So Easy Pieces at http://www.sjfpc.com/estate_planning_drafting_w.... After you read this you may gain an understanding of what is involved in this process.Hope this helps. Please remember to designate a best answer to your question. Mr. Fromm is licensed to practice law throughout the state of PA with offices in Philadelphia and Montgomery Counties. He is authorized to handle IRS matters throughout the United States. His phone number is 215-735-2336 or his email address is [email protected] , his website for more tax, estate and business articles is www.sjfpc.com. and his blog is

Using any type of commercial will package is generally a bad idea not because it isn't legally valid, but because of the risk of creating a legally binding will that doesn't do what you want it to do. This is particularly true in a case where you are anticipating that your will will be contested. There are effective strategies that a lawyer can put in place for you to discourage contests in the first place. Call up a couple lawyers in your area to find out how much (or rather how little) it would cost to put a simple estate plan together for you, then compare the peace of mind you will get to the relatively slight cost difference.

A will created by Legal Zoom or any other store form or software can be legal. The problem is whether the person who is "writing" the will understands the legal ramifications of the contents of the will and will it do what the person wants/expects it to do. You should consult with an attorney to help you understand what documents you should have and see if it is affordable to pay the attorney to do it and get it done right. Good luck.