Should the Texas Medical Board distribute prescription pads to all Texans to prescribe their own medication because doctors are expensive? Of course not. The form is simply too dangerous without the accompanying expertise as to how to use it properly and safely. Likewise, the Texas Supreme Court should not give its imprimatur to legal forms for pro se litigants. Many unwary pro se litigants, lured into a false sense of safety by the Supreme Court’s endorsement, would inevitably suffer self-inflicted damage.
The Texas Supreme Court created the Task Force on Uniform Forms to assist indigent Texans through the creation and distribution of pro se legal forms officially endorsed by the court. The task force has issued draft forms for uncontested divorces with no children and no real property. While the process began with family law, the task force has indicated the possibility of adding other areas of law, including guardianship, estate planning and landlord-tenant.
