Use of Forms Leads to Litigation

In a recent Pennsylvania case, a husband revoked a joint trust when his wife died. The Court ruled that the husband did not have the authority under the terms of the trust to revoke the trust. The trust was a form. Scalfaro v. Rudloff, 934 A.2d 1254 (Pa., 2007) (analyzed in Estate Planning, May 2008, p. 40).

The Court politely called the Trust a "Form Book Declaration of Trust." But the Court could not finally resist, when it stated that if "jolly old settlors" want to disdain legal counsel and use fill-in-the-blank forms, more litigation and unpredictable results will follow.

Use of forms from Legalzoom or Nolo Press often create more problems than they ever solve.

Please post your experiences with form documents, particularly form wills or trusts.