What are the dangers to relying on downloaded forms or a will purchased from an office supply store?

Colorado law has specific forms and language that is used in estate forms. The laws change frequently. An estate plan should accommodate your specific needs in consideration with the current state of the law. You should have an estate plan drawn up by a competent attorney. The danger of downloading forms, buying a package online or at an office supply store is that you think you have created a valid will and are protected when you may not be.  Trying to save money on the front end can create very expensive mistakes in the long run.  The law requires documents to be executed (signed, witnessed and notarized) in a certain manner.  If you sign in the wrong place, or on the wrong page, you may think you have a will that fits your needs when in reality, it is not effective, and you are completely unprotected.  Other services may allow you to enter names of those you want to inherit property and it generates the document for you.  If you name a minor child as a beneficiary on your life insurance, retirement account or name the child in your will without setting up an appropriate way for the gift to be held in trust until the child is older, you will incur unnecessary legal costs by having to go to court and set up a conservatorship to hold the money for the child if the parent dies when the child is a minor.  Most importantly, you don’t have a trained professional to give you advice as to whether the documents you create will actually work the way you want them to.