The Little Horribles of a Scrivener

The following is a short discussion of selected common drafting problems confronting the scrivener of an ordinary will, excluding tax implications, problems created by renunciation or widow’s election, and problems of invalid provisions because of public policy, the rule against perpetuities and other substantive rules of law. Common drafting errors to be avoided are discussed by way of illustration. These drafting “horribles” have been selected as typical “drafting horribles” because of the frequency with which scriveners have used these unwise provisions. Paper delivered at the Institute on Probate Administration presented by the University of Nebraska College of Law and the Junior Bar Section of the Nebraska State Bar Association, September 18 and 19, 1959.