How-to
What to Include in a Will: A Complete Checklist (2026)
Every will should name an executor, a guardian for minor children, beneficiaries with backups, and who gets the rest. A checklist, plus what a will can't do.
Free will and legacy planner
Your will can be the greatest gift you ever give.
Write your will for free, choose the causes you care about with simple sliders, and we'll help every dollar do the most good, for as long as it lasts.
- Free to use
- Private: stays on your device
- About 15 minutes
- Easy to update
Try it: slide toward what matters
An example only. Nothing is saved until you start your plan.
$75,000 goes to your causes. Your loved ones still receive $675,000.
- Loved ones
- Causes
Why it matters
Without a plan, someone else decides
When there's no will, state law decides who inherits, and if no relatives can be found, an estate can pass to the state itself. A few minutes of planning means your values decide instead.
24%
of U.S. adults said they had a will in a 2025 survey. Without a will or trust, state law decides who inherits.
Source: Caring.com, 2025. Gallup found 46% in 2021.
$62B
was left to charity through bequests in 2025, up about 20% in one year.
Source: Giving USA 2026
1 in 9
Americans over 55 with a will or trust includes a charity in it.
A lot already goes to charity. But how well researched is the giving? Most bequests go to whichever charity came to mind years earlier. We help you designate your gift where it does the most good.
See how we designate betterHow it works
Three steps, in plain English
Answer a few simple questions
Who you are, who you love, and who should be in charge. No legal jargon, no account to create.
Slide toward what matters
Pick your causes and drag the sliders to set how much each one receives. You'll see the dollars as you go.
Print and sign
Sign in front of two witnesses using our checklist. When your life changes, update your plan and sign the new version.
Your choice
Three ways to give
Mix and match. Give part of your estate, or all of it. Keep your family first, always.
Name the charities you love
Leave a gift to your congregation, your alma mater, or the hospital that cared for your family.
Recommended
Let research guide it
Choose a cause instead of a single charity. Your gift goes to our Cause Fund for it, which gives to the most effective organizations working on it when the time comes, guided by published research.
Create your own foundation
Start a named fund, like “The Ellis Family Fund for Cancer Research,” that keeps giving for 10 years, 25 years or forever. See how
The backstop bequest
If no one is left to inherit, should it go to the state, or to your cause?
Most people want family to come first. A backstop bequest keeps it that way: the people you name inherit exactly as you planned. Only if none of them survive you does your estate pass to the causes you choose, instead of to relatives you didn't name or, when there are none, to the state.
It takes one checkbox. It does mean relatives you didn't name, such as cousins, won't inherit by default, so it's a choice to make deliberately.
Add a backstop to my will- 1Your spouse
- 2Your children
- 3Their childrenor anyone else you name
- 4Your causesonly if no one above survives you
- ×
Relatives you didn't name, or the state
15,000×
Impact per dollar
Not every good cause is equally good at turning dollars into change
The same gift, pointed at a different program, can do dozens of times more good. We study where an extra dollar, your dollar, goes furthest, and we publish our reasoning.
- ScaleHow big is the problem?
- NeglectWhere is money scarce?
- EvidenceWhat's proven to work?
- CostWhat does one unit of good cost?
Causes
Choose what your legacy stands for
Pick one or several. Don't see yours? Write in any cause or charity.
Global Health & Poverty
Save and improve lives where a dollar goes furthest.
Cancer Research & Care
Fund the breakthroughs, and the prevention that works today.
Genetic & Rare Diseases
Help the families medicine has left behind.
Education & Opportunity
Back the programs proven to help kids learn.
Animal Welfare
Reduce suffering for animals who can't speak for themselves.
America's Future
Strengthen the country your grandchildren will inherit.
Climate & Environment
Fund the levers that move the needle, and protect the places you love.
Mental Health & Addiction
Help people find treatment that works.
Science & Pandemic Preparedness
Protect future generations from the next catastrophe.
Veterans & Military Families
Support those who served, and the families who served with them.
Your Hometown
Leave your community stronger than you found it.
Faith & Congregations
Sustain the community that sustained you.
No will needed
The smartest gift may be your IRA
Your heirs pay income tax on money they withdraw from an inherited traditional IRA or 401(k). A charity pays none. That's why many people leave retirement accounts to charity and their other assets to family.
Naming a charity takes one form from your account provider, and our builder shows you what to list on it.
Example
A $400,000 traditional IRA left to a child can lose a large share to income tax as it's withdrawn. Left to charity, all $400,000 goes to work. Leaving your child other assets, like a home or a brokerage account, can mean far less tax overall.
Illustration only. Your result depends on your heirs' tax brackets and state. Talk with a tax professional.
Learn
Straight answers before you plan
Planning
Will vs. Living Trust: Which Do You Need?
A will goes through probate; a funded living trust usually doesn't. Compare cost, privacy, guardianship and incapacity, and see which one fits you.
Planning
How to Choose an Executor for Your Will
Who can legally be your executor, the qualities that matter, family vs. professional executors, co-executors, backups, executor fees, and how to ask.
Common questions
Is MyLastWill really free?
Yes. Writing your will, choosing your causes and printing your documents costs nothing, and you don't need an account. Charities can never pay us to be recommended.
Is a will made with MyLastWill legally valid?
A will is valid when it is signed the way your state requires, not because of where it was written. In most states that means signing in front of two adult witnesses who aren't beneficiaries. Your documents include a signing checklist, and we recommend an attorney review for large or complex estates.
I already have a will. Do I have to start over?
No. Choose "Add causes to the will I have" and we'll prepare a codicil, a short amendment you sign the same way as a will, plus gift wording you can share with your attorney.
Do you store my will?
No. The builder runs in your browser and your answers are saved only on your device. We never see them unless you choose to send us a note about your gift.
What is a Cause Fund?
A Cause Fund is a fund at Systemic Altruism Foundation, the 501(c)(3) nonprofit behind MyLastWill, dedicated to one cause, such as cancer research or animal welfare, rather than to one charity. When your gift arrives, the fund grants it to the charities doing the most effective work on that cause at that time, guided by published research. Your cause is locked in; the specific charities can change, so the gift isn't stuck with one that has closed.
Fifteen minutes today. Generations of good.
Write your will, choose your causes, and print it for signing. It's free, and your answers stay on your device.
Start my free plan