The Texas Supreme Court just released a do-it-yourself will form that it is hoped will reduce the number of people who die without a will (intestate). Lawyers who oppose the creation of such a form worry that people will use it incorrectly and it will cause an increase in expensive probates. Which is it? Only time will tell.
My experience is however that DIY wills and fill in the blank forms are often improperly used. I have seen wills disinherit a child and then leave everything to that child. I have seen ex-spouses named as trustees with no other option made available. I have seen financial accounts and property included as gifts even though beneficiaries were named on those items with no provisions for everything else a person might own. This leads to “partial intestacy,” which means the person died without giving all their property and the court now has to figure out who under the law to give the rest of it to. I have seen wills where they don’t name an executor, a witness is a beneficiary, independent administration is not granted, it isn’t signed correctly, the person doesn’t use a notary so witnesses have to be located and brought into court, and that Texas terms aren’t used because the will form chosen was for another state.
All of these cause the cost of probate to go up sometimes twice as much or three times as much. But people often turn to DIY forms like these in an attempt to save money on the front end. What do you do if you can’t pay an attorney like me to do your will for you?
There are options like payment plans, credit cards or other loans, sliding scale law firms for income-qualified clients, pro bono options for low income residents, limited scope attorneys, and legal insurance plans. For callers who have simpler needs than what we provide, we will often refer that client to another attorney whose services are more in line with what the caller needs. We have recently introduced express estate planning for people who may have been through the planning process before.
One thing we don’t do here is review other attorneys’ work or review DIY wills to determine if they are enough for Texas law. The reason is it takes longer to read through and certify someone else’s documents than it does to do the work ourselves using the documents I have created over the last 12 years. I know every word of my documents, how to use them, what to recommend, and who needs what. The value I bring to the table as a lawyer is the experiences with clients both in the planning and on the probate side (taking wills through court after death). I am trained to bring up things you don’t even know to ask about so that we can make the best decisions for your situation.