Ann Aldrich used an “E-Z Legal Form” when she made out her will in 2004–it turns out that that decision didn’t make things “EZ-ier” as two nieces sued to receive part of her estate citing the fact the the form will didn’t have a residuary clause. This is just the latest example of how using a commercial or on-line form to prepare a will (or any legal document for that matter) can turn out to be much more expensive in the long run then hiring a professional.
The Florida Supreme Court ruled for the nieces, even though they were never named in the will. The court held that money acquired by Aldrich after the will was executed should be distributed under the laws of intestacy because the will did not dispose of all of Aldrich’s property. Concurring Justice Barbara Pariente saw the ruling as a cautionary tale. “While I appreciate that there are many individuals in this state who might have difficulty affording a lawyer,” Pariente said, “this case does remind me of the old adage ‘penny-wise and pound-foolish.’ …I therefore take this opportunity to highlight a cautionary tale of the potential dangers of utilizing pre-printed forms and drafting a will without legal assistance. As this case illustrates, that decision can ultimately result in the frustration of the testator’s intent, in addition to the payment of extensive attorney’s fees—the precise results the testator sought to avoid in the first place.”
I am often asked whether the proliferation of “do-it-yourself” legal document services (like Legalzoom) have hurt attorneys. I don’t feel as if I’m competing with these services, rather these services are actually competing with search engines like Google or Yahoo. The reason why is that if you want some standard legal document with no guarantees and no assurances as to its legal affect you can easily find one for free on-line. It doesn’t make sense to pay Legalzoom or “E-Z Legal” for what can essentially be considered the same thing as these commercial form providers have so many disclaimers and nonrepresentations provisions that it’s pretty clear all your getting from them is a form–that’s it. If you’re comfortable getting a blank fill-in form, then don’t bother paying a commercial service for it, get it online instead for free.
The truth is that when clients do their own legal work, they will almost always end-up paying more down the road. I can’t tell you how many times we have had to help clients update unthoughtful estate plans, botched deeds or imprecise contracts. You can pretty much guarantee though that paying an attorney to fix the mess and straighten things out will ALWAYS be more expensive then getting professional help the first time around.