will
Sign in to savelegal declaration by which a person names one or more persons to manage their estate and provide for the distribution of their property at death (common law)
AI overview
A will is a legal document in which you specify who will manage your property and how it should be distributed after you die. It matters because it allows you to control what happens to your belongings and ensures your wishes are followed rather than leaving these decisions to default laws.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Article
A will and testament is a legal document that expresses a person's (testator) wishes as to how their property (estate) is to be distributed after their death and as to which person (executor) is to manage the property until its final distribution. For the distribution (devolution) of property not determined by a will, see inheritance and intestacy.
Though it has been thought a "will" historically applied only to real property, while "testament" applied only to personal property (thus giving rise to the popular title of the document as "last will and testament"), records show the terms have been used interchangeably. Thus, the word "will" validly applies to both personal and real property. A will may also create a testamentary trust that is effective only after the death of the testator.