Ledger's Will Dilemma Reflects Wider Issue

His family, she said, had to spend thousands more as a probate court oversaw the disbursement of the man's assets.

Gravett also works on the three-year plan -- he charges a minimum of $40 a month for his reminder and update services, which includes regular three-year revisions to clients' estate plans. It may sound like a hefty price to some, but Gravett said it's a fee his middle-class clients are willing to pay.

"If you just leave it up to the client, time goes buy and they forget," he said.

Not everyone, however, agrees that it's the lawyer's job to tie a ring around a client's finger.

David A. Looney, a lawyer in Akron, Ohio, said that while he has a personal relationship with his clients, "we don't hound the clients down to remind them to come see me."

"I think everybody needs to take responsibility for their own lives, their own situation and realize that estate plans and wills need to be updated now and then," he said. "When things change, that's the time to take care of business, call the lawyer and get it done."

The status of Ledger's estate is still in doubt after two of his uncles accused Kim Ledger, the father of the "Brokeback Mountain" star, of mishandling funds when he was executor of their grandfather's estate in the 1980s.

In Smith's case, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitchell L. Beckloff ruled that Dannielynn would inherit her estate and that Smith's longtime companion Howard K. Stern would administer the girl's trust.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.