Estate planning experts are the best professionals to turn to with questions about wills. Attorney advice should ideally be state and situation specific rather than simply a general answer from an online forum. Although a simple will can often be completed using a "do it yourself" packet, there are a number of circumstances in which legal advice is crucial. For example, a person might wish to leave assets to minor children or other individuals who cannot make financial decisions for themselves. This will require selecting a guardian, conservator, or trustee to manage the inheritance. If a couple is married and one spouse is not a U.S. citizen, this can also complicate the will writing process.

An attorney can also assist in setting up one or more trusts in conjunction with a will. If these trusts are established and funded in advance, they can be exempted from probate fees when the testator (the person making the will) dies. This offers benefits even for small estates worth only a few hundred thousand dollars. For example, a house can be placed in a trust. This way, it can be passed directly to an heir without the title transfer being held up by the lengthy probate process. Trusts are also more difficult to contest than wills. Attorney fees for creating a will vary depending on the size of the estate and the complexity of the planning involved.