Cleaning up after do-it-yourself wills: an ISBA lawyer's tale

There's a great article on the Forbes website about the dangers of DIY will books and software (see The Case Against Do-It-Yourself Wills). Here's hoping all of your clients read it. It's all the more interesting because it includes an irresistible  "fubar homespun will" anecdote from Dennis Riley, an ISBA member from Oregon, Ill. Quoting the article here: "[Riley] recalls a situation several years ago where a father was estranged from one of his children and wanted to disinherit him. Dad bought DIY will software from a big-box store and, following the prompts, listed his assets, but omitted some important ones: small numbers of shares of various phone company stocks that he had bought many years earlier. Those shares, which probably once seemed like tiddlywinks, had burgeoned in value because of mergers and stock splits and were worth more than $1.5 million, comprising most of Dad's estate, by the time he died." Wow. Sounds like it came from a law school final, but it really happened. This, folks, is why people need lawyers. Spread the word. (Hat tip to Michele Miller, who posted the link on the ISBACafe discussion group.)