Our method
We study how a legacy can do the most good
Most bequests go to whichever charity was easiest to remember. A lifetime of savings deserves more thought than that. MyLastWill exists to help people direct their legacy to where it will create the most change per dollar, and to keep studying how to do that better.
Why this matters
Good causes are not equally good at turning dollars into results. When philosopher Toby Ord compared 108 health programs from Disease Control Priorities, a major global health study, the best was about 60 times as cost-effective as the typical one, and about 15,000 times as cost-effective as the worst.
That means the same gift, pointed at a different program, can do dozens of times more good. Most people never see that difference, because no one shows it to them at the moment they write their will. We do.
Bequests are among the largest gifts most people ever make. Americans left an estimated $62 billion to charity through bequests in 2025, according to Giving USA. Even a small improvement in where that money goes would change millions of lives.
60×
The method
Seven questions we ask before recommending any gift
These are adapted from the frameworks used by independent charity evaluators. No single number captures doing good, so we weigh all seven and show our reasoning.
Scale
How big is the problem? How many people or animals does it affect, and how severely?
Neglect
How much is already being spent? An extra dollar matters most where money is scarce.
Evidence
Is there a solution that demonstrably works, ideally tested in randomized trials or proven by a long track record?
Cost-effectiveness
What does one unit of good cost: a life saved, a year of healthy life, a year of learning, an animal spared from suffering?
Counterfactual impact
Would this happen anyway, without this gift? We look for work that wouldn't.
Room for more funding
Can the organization put more money to good use now, or is it already fully funded?
Durability
Will this still be a good use of money when the gift arrives, which may be decades from now?
Cause Funds
Cause-locked, not charity-locked
A bequest often arrives years, sometimes decades, after a will is signed. The best charity today may not be the best one in 2045. It may have merged, closed, or simply been overtaken by something better.
So we lock the cause, not the charity. You choose cancer research, animal welfare or your hometown, and your will dedicates your gift to that cause. When it arrives, your executor gives it to organizations working on that cause, guided by the latest published research. Once MyLastWill's own Cause Funds open, they will make those grants and publish every one.
MyLastWill is being organized as a nonprofit public charity. Until its tax-exempt status is final, the will builder writes cause gifts so your executor can carry them out through established charities, guided by our published research.
What stays fixed, and what can change
| Fixed by you | Chosen when your gift arrives |
|---|---|
| Your causes | The specific organizations |
| How your gift is split | The programs funded |
| Your fund's name and mission | The timing of each grant |
Research agenda
What we're studying
We're building MyLastWill as a research organization as much as a will service. These are the open questions we're working on now.
Spend now, or give forever?
When should a legacy fund spend everything in 10 years so its money works while today's best opportunities last, and when should it give about 5% a year forever?
Comparing very different causes
How should someone weigh cancer research against malaria prevention or animal welfare? You choose the cause and we find the best opportunities within it. We'll publish our cross-cause research for anyone who wants to go further.
Research or care?
In cancer and rare diseases, when does funding research help more people than funding care, and when is it the other way around?
Measuring civic impact
Nonpartisan work on America's future matters, but its results are hard to count. We're developing honest ways to evaluate it.
Leverage
When can a gift unlock much more: matching funds, policy change, or venture philanthropy like the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's investment in drug research, which it later sold for $3.3 billion to fund more of its mission?
Asking well, without pressure
How a question is asked changes what people do. In a U.K. trial by the Behavioural Insights Team, simply asking will-writing customers about charity doubled the share who left a gift. We study how to offer that choice respectfully, and never with pressure.
Principles
What you can count on
- Your wishes come firstYou choose the causes, and your will makes them binding.
- Never for saleNo charity can pay to be listed or recommended.
- Strictly nonpartisanWe never support or oppose candidates or parties.
- TransparentWe publish our research, and will publish every grant and fee our funds make.
- Private by designThe will builder runs in your browser. We don't see your answers.
- Family firstWe never pressure anyone, and we encourage you to talk with your family and an attorney.
- Evidence over anecdoteWe fund what works, and we say so when the evidence changes.
- Honest about uncertaintyOur estimates are estimates. We show our reasoning so you can judge it.
Who we learn from
We build on the work of independent researchers and evaluators who study how to give well, including:
- GiveWell: global health and poverty
- Animal Charity Evaluators: animal welfare
- Giving Green and Founders Pledge: climate and other causes
- J-PAL: randomized evaluations of social programs
- Giving What We Can and The Life You Can Save: effective giving
MyLastWill is independent and isn't affiliated with these organizations.
Who we are
MyLastWill was founded in 2026 to make thoughtful legacy giving available to everyone, not just families with a private banker.
Our guides are written and fact-checked by the MyLastWill Research Team. They cite their sources, and we update them when the law or the evidence changes. Spot an error? Tell us.
MyLastWill is being organized as a nonprofit public charity. Until its tax-exempt status is final, the will builder writes cause gifts so your executor can carry them out through established charities, guided by our published research.
Fifteen minutes today. Generations of good.
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