Is a list of wishes a will?

The short answer

No. A list of wishes is not a will, and the record you make here is not one either. It is a record of information and wishes: where things are kept, what you would like, and whom to call.

Rules differ by state and country. For a will, a power of attorney or an advance directive, see your own attorney and your state's official sources.

What a will is

A will is a legal document. The National Institute on Aging describes it as a document that specifies how a person's estate, meaning their property, money and other assets, will be distributed and managed when they die.

The same page lists a will among the legal documents that a person may choose to prepare, depending on their situation.

This site does not describe how a will is made. That is a matter for your own attorney and your state's official sources.

What this record is

The record holds information and wishes, in your own words. It says where your papers are kept, which accounts exist, what you would like, and whom to call.

About a will, the record holds whether one exists, where the original is kept, and who holds a copy. It does not hold what the will says.

If no will is written down, the page says only "Not recorded". Nothing more is asked, and nothing on this site says whether you ought to have one. That is your own decision.

What the record leaves out, and why

• It has no page for who receives money or property.
• It has no line for a signature, a witness or a date of signing.
• It uses the words of a wish, such as "I would like", and not the words of an instruction.

These are left out on purpose, so that a filled-in page found in a drawer is not taken for a legal document.

A wish is written the way you would say it to your family.

Wishes written in the record guide your family. They may not be binding.

If you would like particular things to go to particular people

This record cannot do that, and it is not the place to write it down.

For that, see your own attorney. Your state's official sources can give general information for the place where you live.

Where the record helps

The National Institute on Aging suggests telling someone you know and trust, or a lawyer, where to find your important papers.

Part 3 of the record, Where things are kept, is a place to write that down. If you have a will, the record can say where it is, so that the people who look for it can find it.

Sources

A sentence on this page that states a fact about the world rests on one of the official pages below. A sentence that only describes this record rests on no outside page.

If something on this page looks wrong, or an official page has changed since the date shown, please say so. The contact page explains how.