Wills and Estate Planning: Avvo Legal Guides Address Top Consumer Questions

New estate tax rules going into effect January 1 remind consumers why having a will is so critical, and increase need to understand how to prepare one

Seattle, Wash — Drawing attention to the importance of estate planning, Avvo, Inc., the web’s largest expert-only legal and health Q&A forum and directory (http://www.avvo.com), today released a set of legal guides that address the top questions consumers have about wills and estate planning.  The new guides, authored by attorneys with subject matter expertise, underscore the importance of estate planning, and provide guidance on how to get ones estate affairs in order.  They include:

“Estate planning is a complicated and sophisticated area of legal practice.  It is also highly personalized, with potentially far reaching consequences for family members and dependents,” said estate planning attorney Janet Brewer.  “Avvo’s legal guides are a valuable resource for basic orientation around wills and estate planning, and it’s critical to find an attorney who knows what you wish to accomplish with your assets and is prepared to assist you in implementing a plan that provides not only for your financial goals, but for your values-based objectives as well.”

Top Legal Questions Answered

Avvo received more than 1,500 questions about wills and estate planning from consumers in 2011, and is on pace to receive more than 3,000 in 2012.  According to Gallup and other national polls, half of all American adults do not have a will in place that describes how they would like their money and estate to be handled after their death. Further reflecting the national trend, an informal poll conducted by Avvo on Facebook revealed that over 51% of respondents said they didn’t have a will in place.

About Avvo, Inc.

Avvo provides trusted answers to consumer legal and health questions every 10 seconds. In Avvo’s free Q&A forum with more than 125,000 participating lawyers, doctors and dentists, consumers can ask a lawyer or a medical professional questions for free. Avvo’s professional directory provides comprehensive profiles, client and patient reviews, peer endorsements and the industry-recognized Avvo Rating for more than 90 percent of lawyers, doctors and dentists in the U.S.  Avvo launched in 2007 and is privately held with funding from Benchmark Capital, DAG Ventures and Ignition Partners. Avvo can also be found at www.facebook.com/avvo and www.linkedin.com/comapny/avvo/.