Simple Will Maker

How it works

1. Answer the questions. It takes about 20 minutes. Your progress saves automatically on this device, so you can stop and come back.
2. Review your will. You see every page as it will print, with checks for common mistakes like missing backups or shares that don't add up.
3. Unlock and print. Pay $49 once to remove the preview watermark. You can change your answers and print again on the same device.
4. Sign it properly. Sign in front of two adult witnesses who don't inherit anything. In most states you can also sign a self-proving affidavit in front of a notary at the same time, which saves your family time in probate.
5. Store the original safely and tell your executor where it is.

What your will can cover

• An executor to settle your estate, and a backup.
• A guardian for children under 18, and a backup.
• Specific gifts of belongings or money to particular people or charities.
• Who inherits everything else: your spouse, your children, or people you choose, with backups if someone dies before you.
• Someone to care for your pets, with money toward their care if you want.
• Permission for your executor to deal with your online accounts.
• A way for your executor to hold money for young beneficiaries until they're 21.

What a will doesn't control

Some things pass directly to a named person, whatever your will says:

• life insurance and retirement accounts such as a 401(k) or IRA, which go to the beneficiaries on file,
• bank and investment accounts marked payable on death or transfer on death,
• property you own jointly with a right of survivorship, which goes to the other owner, and
• anything held in a living trust.

When you make your will, check the beneficiaries on these accounts too, so everything fits together.

When to see an attorney instead

A simple will suits most people with straightforward wishes. Talk to an estate planning attorney if:

• you want a trust, or to control when or how someone inherits. A simple will gives property outright. Trusts need an attorney.
• someone who will inherit has a disability or receives SSI or Medicaid. An inheritance can end means-tested benefits. A special needs trust usually protects them.
• you own a business or a share of one. Business interests often need a succession plan and specific wording.
• you own property outside the United States. Foreign property may need a will that meets that country's rules.
• your estate might owe federal or state estate tax. Tax planning needs an attorney or tax adviser.
• you want to leave your spouse less than they would normally get. Spouses have protected rights in every state. Leaving a spouse out usually needs legal advice.
• you expect someone to challenge your will. An attorney can help make a will harder to contest.
• you have children from an earlier relationship and a current spouse. Leaving everything to a spouse can leave your own children out later. An attorney can suggest safer options.
• you live in Louisiana, which has its own will forms. The will maker isn't available there.

Signing a will: witnesses and notaries

A will is valid when it's signed the way your state's law requires, whoever wrote it. In almost every state that means signing it in front of two adult witnesses, who then sign it too. Choose witnesses who don't inherit anything under the will. A notary isn't needed for the will itself.

Most states also let you add a self-proving affidavit: you and your witnesses sign a sworn statement in front of a notary. It lets the probate court accept your will without tracking down your witnesses later. Where your state sets out the wording, the will maker includes it, along with a printable signing checklist for your state.

Your answers stay private

Everything you type stays in your own browser, saved on this device. It is never sent to us, and we can't see it. When you buy, we only learn that a purchase was made. You can save your answers to a file to move them to another device, and clearing your browser data deletes them. Read our privacy policy.