Will
A legal document directing who receives what you own in your own name, and naming a guardian for any minor children.
A will is the baseline document of an estate plan, and for many families it is genuinely enough. It is also the only place you can name a guardian for minor children, which is why even people with a trust usually still have one.
A will governs probate — it does not avoid it. And it does not override a beneficiary designation: if your retirement account names someone, that form controls that account regardless of what your will says.
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Related Terms
Probate
The court process that validates a will, settles debts, and transfers what someone owned in their own name after they die.
Living Trust
A legal arrangement you create during your lifetime to hold your assets, so they can pass to your beneficiaries without going through probate.
Executor
The person named in a will to carry it out — gathering assets, paying debts, and distributing what remains. Some states call this role a personal representative.
Beneficiary Designation
The form on file with a financial institution naming who receives an account when you die. It passes outside your will — and overrides it.
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