Sandra Marie Hatton died in 2015 of ovarian cancer at the Warwick Hospital in Queensland, Australia. In an effort to save money in the final disposition of her estate, Hatton decided to use a do-it-yourself will kit. The four-page will form had numerous handwritten attachments along with multiple changes. Hatton had changed her mind about possible charitable beneficiaries a few times toward the end of her life. Multiple errors and befuddled beneficiaries will likely end up costing her estate tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees and probate costs.
See Kay Dibben, Unholy Row As Court Decides on Religious Woman’s Will, news.com.au, October 15, 2017.
Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (Professional Legal Marketing (PLM, Inc.) for bringing this article to my attention.
