Several years ago, I saw a wonderful sign hanging in a leather repair shop that read as follows:

1) Fast,
2) Good,
3) Cheap.
Pick any two.

The simplicity and brilliance of that sign is undeniable.

Recently, that sign came to mind as a friend and new client discussed a situation he was facing. It suffices to say that my friend turned to an online legal service for general business advice and documentation for a project. After chastising him for not picking up the phone and giving me a call ahead of time, we discussed how I could help.

Although I have seen TV commercials, billboards, and other ads for online legal services, I have never known anyone who used them. I am an advocate of affordable legal services and I don’t think legal advice should require a second mortgage or promise to name your first born after your attorney.  So, I always considered those services to be a good alternative that filled a need for run-of-the-mill legal issues (if there is such a thing).

However, I was shocked to learn that not only are online legal services not very affordable, but they may end up costing you more than if you had gone to an attorney in the first place, because you may need to fix problems that the services create.

After reviewing my friend’s documents, I identified several issues that needed to be fixed. While all of the documents were technically sound (meaning that they were free of typos and did create legal rights), they were filled with things that could develop into critical issues for him down the road. Some of the major issues included:

1) A waiver of legal notices;

2) Relying on and referring to other entities that my friend had no idea who they were, what they did, or that they even existed; and

3) Creating an opportunity for someone to take an ownership interest in the entity without my friend’s approval.

I won’t identify the online service that was used (to avoid the libel claim against me), but I will say that I am now generally leery of online legal services.  My naïveté has faded and, not wanting to sound like a self-promoting attorney, I highly recommend avoiding such online services.  While the click of a mouse may make you feel productive and put your mind at ease today, the ripple effect of the quick fix can be disastrous.

If for nothing else, let my friend’s experience serve as an example that taking the time to understand what you need and how to get it done efficiently and affordably will payoff in the long run.  As my mother always says, “measure twice, cut once.”

There is a growing trend –specifically among young adults– where classic social norms and institutions, such as marriage, are not as important as they used to be. In an age where more and more marriages just aren’t “sticking,” and the divorce rate is higher than the success rate, more people are waiting longer to get married, or they are flat-out rejecting the concept of marriage. Additionally, as the issue of homosexual marriage continues to fight its way across the country, more and more young adults are faced with a scary reality: what do I do if something bad happens to me or my significant other?

The traditional concept is that young people fall in love, get married, and go along their way. Through the institution of legal marriage, each spouse is given certain rights to property, to decision-making, and to visitation of the other spouse. But, as more people live together without ever legally establishing a marriage (or are prevented from doing so), those rights are limited.

However, for those living in a non-traditional relationship, there are some easy and important steps that you can take to create important rights and remove the uncertainty of living with someone as an unmarried couple (at least as it relates to legal rights).

There are a handful of useful documents that can be created easily and cost-effectively, and which provide security for you and your significant other. The main documents include: 1) a Designated Beneficiary Agreement, 2) a Durable Medical Power of Attorney, 3) a Living Will, and 4) a Disposition of Last Remains. And, despite the daunting legalistic names, these documents and their purposes are relatively easy to understand.

Designated Beneficiary Agreements
Probably the most useful and easy of these documents, the Designated Beneficiary Agreement allows two people to create legal rights on behalf of each other. Under Colorado law, there is a standard form that allows two people to enter into a contract to give each other rights.  Out of the 16 rights that the document may create, probably the most important include the following:

- The right for hospital visitation;
- The right to participate in health care decisions for the other person; and
- The right to inherit property from the other person without a will.

However, there are several important things to know and understand about the agreement. The most important are:

- Neither party can be married;
- Neither party can be part of another designated beneficiary agreement;
- Any other “superseding legal document” will prevail (meaning a Will or the other legal documents listed in this article will trump the agreement);
- The agreement must be filed with the Clerk and Recorder's Office where at least one of the designated beneficiaries lives; and
- The agreement can be unilaterally undone by either of the people in the agreement.

Durable Medical Powers of Attorney
This is a customized document that will require an attorney’s help to complete. But, the document can be as simple or complex as you need it to be. The general idea of a Durable Medical Power of Attorney is that the document lists one or more people that you trust and who you want to make medical decisions for you, if you are ever injured and are unable to make health care decisions on your own. In the document, you can also include your personal wishes and explain how you want things to be done on your behalf.

Living Wills
Under the Colorado Medical Treatment Decision Act, a person can create a Living Will that tells a hospital or other health care facility what you would like done if you are ever in a terminal or unresponsive condition. This means that if you are ever in an accident or have a disease where the doctors think you will not recover, the document will tell them what you want done. Generally speaking, if doctors decide that you lack “decisional capacity to accept or reject medical or surgical treatment” you have three options: 1) stop life sustaining treatment, 2) continue life sustaining treatment, or 3) continue the treatment for a limited time.

This is similar to the Designated Beneficiary Agreement, because it is a very simple form that can be completed in a matter of minutes. And, you can make the decisions well in advance of any potential accident.

Disposition of Last Remains
Finally, it is a very stressful experience to make decisions, such as funeral arrangements, for loved ones who have passed away. So, in order to simplify the process and to ensure that what you want done is actually carried out, a Disposition of Last Remains is a simple document that explains what you want done, and who you want to do it, once you have passed away. Similar to the Durable Medical Power of Attorney, this is a document that you should have an attorney help you create, but it can be a very simple and cost-effective process. Things you can put in the document include whether you want to be buried or cremated, religious ceremonies, and anything else important to you.

While these documents can be very useful, please remember that not everyone needs all of them. Also, it is a very scary and unpleasant thing to think about potential accidents. But, these documents can make unpleasant situations much more manageable.

So, it is important that if you think any of these documents may be useful to you, you should speak with an attorney or conduct more research on your own to fully understand what to do.