Writing down your wishes before a will is drafted
Say what you want and why, not what you think a will is supposed to sound like. The formal language is the drafter's job — and it is the part that differs everywhere.
Say what you want, not what you think a will says
People sitting down to prepare for a will often start writing in a voice they have picked up from somewhere: I hereby give and bequeath…. It is an understandable instinct and it makes the job harder. Borrowed clauses hide the thing a drafter actually needs, which is what you want and why.
“The blue vase was my mother’s and I would like it to stay in the family, but not if it causes a row” tells a professional more than any amount of formal language. It says what the object is, why it matters, and what you would trade off. That is the raw material.
A worksheet is not a will, and the difference is not cosmetic
What makes a will effective is set by the law where you live: how it is signed, who may witness it, whether a notary must be involved, whether a handwritten one counts at all. Those requirements differ sharply between countries and, in federal systems, between states. A worksheet that carried signature and witness lines would invite exactly one mistake — someone treating it as though it had done something — so ours carries neither, and says “Not a Will” on every printed page.
Shares: why we show you 130 and leave it there
If you write down that two people should each have 60% and 70% of what is left, our worksheet tells you the total is 130 and stops. It does not scale them to 46 and 54.
That restraint is the point. There is no way to know whether you meant to give one of them more, whether you were thinking of two different pools, or whether you simply mistyped — and a tool that silently “fixes” the arithmetic has quietly rewritten someone’s intentions to make a number look tidy. Percentages are grouped by a pool you name yourself, each pool is added up on its own, and specific gifts mixed in with percentage shares are flagged for discussion rather than resolved.
There is a second reason. Whether a share is allowed is a separate question from whether it adds to 100. Many countries reserve part of an estate for particular family members regardless of what a will says; the ABA’s own introduction notes that most US states prevent a spouse being disinherited. A total of 100 is arithmetic, not permission.
Nothing is inferred from a name
Type “Ana” and the worksheet records “Ana”. It does not decide that Ana is your sister, that she is entitled to anything, or that being listed first means anything at all. If the relationship matters, write it in the description field, where it is a fact you stated rather than a guess we made.
The letter of wishes is a different document, doing a different job
A letter of wishes carries what a legal document cannot: the reasons, the context, the things you want said. It has no legal force, which is precisely what frees it up. It is where you explain why one person got the house, or what you hope happens at the funeral, or simply what you wanted your children to know.
Our generator arranges what you write and adds nothing but the headings. There is no text generation in it, nothing is sent anywhere to be composed, and an entirely blank form produces nothing at all — it asks you to write a line first. A letter of condolence-shop sentiment assembled over your name would be worth less than no letter, and would be a small dishonesty besides.
Where the general points here come from
These sources support the narrow distinctions below and nothing further. None of them is a statement about your situation, and none of them makes this page legal advice.
- American Bar Association — Introduction to Wills
Supports: That a will governs only part of what a person owns; and that many jurisdictions restrict the freedom to disinherit a spouse or, in some cases, children.
Scope: US-oriented, state law varies. Used here for the general distinction, not for any rule that applies to a particular reader.
Checked: 5 September 2026