Myth #1 - The belief is that unless each child is left $1.00, the Will is not valid. This is not only false, but also may lead to the very dispute you are seeking to avoid. During the estate administration, not only will you have to pay the $1.00; you also are required to provide notice of the estate administration and obtain a receipt to prove the payment.

The likelihood of having extra work (and cost) for the administration is quite substantial. After all, the insult of receiving $1.00 will generate an emotional reaction that is probably not going to be nice. You are not the one who will bear the consequences; your beneficiaries will. DON'T DO IT!

An observation we have made in a small number of cases is that the deceased actually may have wanted to stir up trouble among everyone affected. During their lifetimes they had enjoyed interfering in others lives, so why not in death? We will never know for sure if that was their intent.