Statutory Fill-in-The-Blank Will Forms

Abstract:     
Most Americans do not execute wills and thus their estates become subject to the rigidities of intestate succession, which often defeat the decedent's intent for his estate. Four bold state legislatures created a new method of will execution in the 1980's: the statutory fill-in-the-blank form. This method goes far beyond the earlier models, which only supplied will provisions to be incorporated by reference. This article discusses the operation of statutory fill-in will forms, their benefits and advantages, and their problems and associated concerns. The article further examines the empirical findings of studies conducted by the author to determine how fill-in will forms fared in a cost-benefit analysis. The author lastly considers the future of statutory wills.

Keywords: statutory fill-in-the-blank form, wills, will forms

JEL Classifications: K11, K19, K39

Accepted Paper Series