What to Include in a Will: A Complete Checklist (2026)

What should every will include?

Who should you name as executor?

Your executor, called a personal representative in some states, pays your debts and taxes and hands out what's left (Cornell Legal Information Institute). Choose someone organized and trustworthy, and name a backup.

Many wills also say the executor may serve without bond, an insurance policy some courts otherwise require. In Texas, for example, a court can skip the bond when the will says so and the person is qualified (Tex. Estates Code §305.101). See how to choose an executor and what an executor does.

How do you name a guardian for your children?

Parents nominate a guardian for minor children in their wills, but the court decides, based on the child's best interest. If a living parent objects, a California court, for example, must find that parental custody would harm the child before appointing anyone else (Judicial Council of California, GC-205-INFO). So the nomination matters most if both parents die. Name a backup.

Plan for the children's money too. Without a plan, a court may have to appoint a guardian of the estate, who must file an inventory and regular accountings, and some banks and insurers won't release a child's money until one is appointed (GC-206-INFO). Your will can leave the money in a trust instead, or name a custodian under your state's Uniform Transfers to Minors Act, as California allows (Cal. Prob. Code §3903). See how to choose a guardian.

What are specific gifts?

Particular items or amounts left to named people or charities, such as "my wedding ring to my niece, Ana Lopez." Describe each item clearly and use full names.

Some states let you list who gets your belongings in a separate signed note that you can change without re-signing your will. In Florida, the note must be signed and describe the items and recipients with reasonable certainty (Fla. Stat. §732.515).

What is the residuary estate, and why does it matter?

Your residuary estate is what's left after specific gifts, debts and expenses (Cornell LII). It's usually the largest part of an estate, and it catches anything you forgot or bought after signing.

The residuary clause may be the most important sentence in your will. Property your will doesn't give away passes to your heirs under state law, as if you had no will (Cal. Prob. Code §6400). See what happens without a will.

Why do you need backup beneficiaries?

If a beneficiary dies before you and you named no backup, the gift may "lapse" into your residuary estate, or a state anti-lapse law may pass it to that person's descendants. The result depends on your state and how you're related (Cornell LII).

Many states also have a 120-hour rule: a beneficiary who doesn't outlive you by 120 hours is treated as having died first, unless your will says otherwise (Maine Rev. Stat. tit. 18-C, §2-702). Naming an alternate for every gift removes the guesswork.

How should you handle digital assets?

As of October 2026, 47 states and D.C. have adopted the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (Uniform Law Commission). Under it, instructions you give in a platform's own online tool come first, then your will or other signed document, then the platform's terms of service. Your executor can't read your emails or messages unless you consented (Uniform Law Commission).

Use platforms' legacy tools, give consent in your will if you want your executor to have access, and keep a list of accounts somewhere secure. Don't put passwords in your will, which is filed with the probate court. More in digital assets in your will.

How do you provide for a pet?

Leave your pet to a caregiver, with a backup, and consider leaving money for its care. To make sure the money is spent on your pet, use a pet trust; all 50 states and D.C. have pet trust laws (ASPCA). In Florida, a pet trust ends when the animal dies, a person you name can enforce it, and leftover money returns to your estate unless you say otherwise (Fla. Stat. §736.0408). See pets in your will.

How do you include a charity?

Charitable gifts are optional. If you include one, use the charity's full legal name, city and federal tax ID (EIN), which you can find with the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search. See how to leave money to charity in your will.

How must a will be signed?

In most states, you sign in front of two adult witnesses, who then sign too. Some differences:

• Witnesses who inherit. In New York, a gift to a witness is void unless two other witnesses who receive nothing also signed (N.Y. EPTL §3-3.2). Use witnesses who inherit nothing.
• Pennsylvania doesn't require witnesses at signing (20 Pa.C.S. §2502), but two witnesses must later swear to the will unless it's self-proved (§§3132, 3132.1).
• Colorado and North Dakota also accept a will acknowledged before a notary instead of witnesses.
• Self-proving affidavits, signed before a notary, spare your witnesses a trip to court. Most states offer them; California, D.C., Maryland and Ohio don't.

Check your state's rules and what makes a will valid.

What can't a will do?

Texas, for example, lets you sign a notarized document naming an agent who comes first in deciding what happens to your remains (Tex. Health & Safety Code §711.002). And a will doesn't avoid probate; see how to avoid probate.

Printable will checklist

Before you write

1. List what you own and how each asset is titled.
2. List accounts with beneficiary forms and check who is named.
3. Choose an executor, a guardian if you have minor children, and backups.

In the will

1. Your full name, your state, and a line revoking earlier wills.
2. Your executor and backup, and whether they may serve without bond.
3. Your guardian and backup.
4. A trust or custodian for gifts to children.
5. Specific gifts, each with a backup beneficiary.
6. A residuary clause, with backups.
7. Instructions for pets and digital accounts.
8. Any charitable gifts, with legal names and EINs.

Signing and after

1. Sign as your state requires, usually before two witnesses who inherit nothing.
2. Add a self-proving affidavit if your state offers one.
3. Store the original safely and tell your executor where it is.
4. Review it after a marriage, divorce, birth, death or move.

Our free will builder covers the core of this list: your executor and guardian with backups and no bond required, a custodian for children's inheritances, your residuary estate with backups, your personal belongings, and optional charitable gifts by legal name and EIN, plus a state-specific signing checklist. It doesn't write gifts of specific items, pet clauses or digital-account instructions, so add those with an attorney if you need them. It needs no account, your answers stay in your browser, and it doesn't prepare wills for Louisiana or North Carolina residents.