Amarillo lawyers warn against writing your will in panic during COVID-19 crisis

AMARILLO, Texas (KFDA) - Amarillo lawyers say they are seeing more people wanting assistance making a will during the coronavirus outbreak.

“We have seen an up tick in requests for assistance in that area, but truly, it applies across the board even without a pandemic. People are just thinking about it more now,” said Mark Wilson, lawyer at Smith Wilson Law Firm.

However, many law firms warn of the complications creating a will on your own or through the internet can bring.

“Things that can go wrong if you are drafting a will at home has to do with how you execute it. The number of witnesses. If it’s a hand written will, and other people are writing on the documents, that can void it. So you have to be careful with how the wills are executed in the proper language,” said Wilson.

Wilson says a will that is not done correctly could end up costing your family three times more than what you would have originally paid for getting help creating it.

“Having an effort at a will that ends up not being valid can be quite costly,” said William R. Taylor, lawyer for his own firm.

Many law firms are currently providing services remotely.

“Those instruments can be prepared based off of information gathered over the phone. Then they can be notarized with a notary present in a Zoom, video, audio conference type setting without the person necessarily having to come in or the lawyer having to get out and go to the person,” said Taylor.

Wilson says, not only is a will recommended, but it is suggested for adults to plan their estate.

“If you elect to do your own legal work, you can only hope you did it right. If you didn’t, it not only was a waste of time, but it could have made it more complicated and had unintended consequences,” said Wilson.

This will help determine who is the power of attorney in a medical incident.

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