This is, unfortunately, a true story. Anne Aldrich wrote her will on an “E-Z Legal Form” on April 5, 2004. Ms. Aldrich carefully inventoried all of her property on the preprinted form, and she left all of her possessions to her sister. She also provided that if the sister died before she did, “I leave all listed [property] to James Michael Aldrich,” her brother. The will was duly signed and witnessed. It was legal and unambiguous. However, it did not contain a “residuary clause” for disposing of any property not specifically mentioned in the will. Ms. Aldrich may not have appreciated the importance of that omission. Had she died soon thereafter, it might not have made any difference.

But as it happened, the sister died first. Ms. Aldrich inherited a considerable amount of property from the sister. The property so acquired was not, of course, mentioned in the will. Ms. Aldrich wrote an addendum to her will that acknowledged her sister’s death and said, “I reiterate that all my worldly possessions pass to my brother.” Alas, under local law the note could not be considered a valid will or codicil, because it lacked the signature of a witness.

After Ms. Aldrich died, two nieces challenged the will. They argued that the brother’s inheritance must be limited to the items named in the first will and that the balance of the estate must pass under the laws of intestacy (the rules that govern inheritance in the absence of a will). The Courts, with some regret, sided with the nieces, although they acknowledged that this was almost certainly not Ms. Aldrich’s intention.

The Florida Supreme Court summed up the outcome with these words: “Obviously, the cost of drafting a will through the use of a pre-printed form is likely substantially lower than the cost of hiring a knowledgeable lawyer. However, as illustrated by this case, the ultimate cost of utilizing such a form to draft one’s will has the potential to far surpass the cost of hiring a lawyer at the outset.” The costs of litigation, and having the estate tied up for years, as well as the possibility of failing to have one’s intentions accurately carried out, make the investment in consulting an estate planning attorney a wise one indeed.

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