Beyond the Basics: Crucial Items Most People Forget in Their Will

Creating a will is a responsible and thoughtful step toward protecting your loved ones and ensuring your wishes are honored. Most people remember to include major assets like their home, bank accounts, and investments. However, a truly effective will goes beyond the obvious, and it’s the smaller, often overlooked details that can prevent confusion and conflict for your family later on.

If you’re wondering what you might be missing, you’ve come to the right place. This guide covers the critical items that people frequently forget to include in their wills, giving you the clarity needed to create a truly comprehensive plan.

The Overlooked Essentials for a Complete Will

A will is more than just a list of who gets what. It’s a final set of instructions that can provide immense comfort and guidance to your family during a difficult time. Ensuring these often-forgotten items are included can make all the difference.

1. Digital Assets and Online Accounts

In today’s world, a significant part of our lives exists online. Your digital footprint includes everything from social media profiles and email accounts to cryptocurrency wallets and cloud storage filled with family photos. Without instructions, your executor may not know these assets exist or have the legal authority to access them.

What to Include: Create a detailed inventory of all your digital assets. This includes social media accounts (like Facebook or Instagram), email accounts (like Gmail or Outlook), online shopping accounts with credits (like Amazon), blogs or websites you own, and any digital currencies (like Bitcoin).
Why It’s Important: Some accounts may contain sentimental value, like photos stored in Google Photos or iCloud. Others may have monetary value. Providing access helps your executor manage, transfer, or close these accounts according to your wishes, protecting your digital legacy and preventing identity theft.
How to Do It: You can appoint a “digital executor” in your will. This person is designated to handle your online accounts. Do not list passwords directly in your will, as it becomes a public document. Instead, use a secure password manager like LastPass or 1Password and provide instructions on how to access that manager in a separate letter of instruction given to your executor.

2. Specific Plans for Your Pets

Pets are beloved members of the family, but under the law, they are considered personal property. Simply assuming a friend or relative will take them in can lead to uncertainty. If you want to ensure your pet is cared for, you need to make formal arrangements.

What to Include: Clearly name a person (and a backup person) who has agreed to become your pet’s new caretaker.
Why It’s Important: This legally designates a guardian for your pet, ensuring they go to a loving home you’ve chosen. It removes any guesswork or burden from your family members, who may not be able to take on the responsibility.
How to Do It: The most effective way is to create a “pet trust.” This allows you to set aside a specific amount of money for the pet’s care, covering food, vet bills, and grooming. You name a trustee to manage the funds and a caretaker to look after the pet, ensuring the money is used as intended.

3. Personal Items with Sentimental Value

Family disputes often arise not over money, but over smaller items with deep sentimental meaning. A wedding ring, a collection of old photographs, a set of tools, or a specific piece of furniture can hold more emotional weight than a bank account.

What to Include: Think about specific, meaningful items that you want to go to particular people.
Why It’s Important: Explicitly stating who gets what prevents arguments and hurt feelings among your heirs. It shows you’ve put thought into these personal bequests, making the gift even more special.
How to Do It: Instead of cluttering your will with a long list of small items, many states allow you to create a “personal property memorandum.” This is a separate document referenced in your will where you can list specific items and who should receive them. This document can be updated more easily than your will as circumstances change.

4. A Residuary Clause: The Essential Safety Net

What happens to the assets you forgot to list or acquired after you wrote your will? Without a plan for this “leftover” property, the court will decide how to distribute it based on state law, which may not align with your wishes. This is where a residuary clause comes in.

What to Include: A residuary clause is a provision that names a beneficiary (or beneficiaries) to receive any remaining property in your estate after all specific gifts have been made and debts have been paid.
Why It’s Important: This clause acts as a crucial safety net, ensuring that every single asset you own is distributed according to your instructions. It prevents any part of your estate from being subject to intestacy laws.
How to Do It: Your attorney will add language like, “I give all the residue of my estate, including any property that I have not otherwise specifically gifted, to [Name of Beneficiary].”

5. Contingent (or Alternate) Beneficiaries

It’s natural to name your spouse, children, or a close sibling as your primary beneficiary. But what if that person passes away before you do? If you haven’t named a backup, the court will step in to decide who inherits that asset.

What to Include: For every primary beneficiary you name, you should also name a contingent beneficiary.
Why It’s Important: Naming an alternate ensures there is always a clear line of inheritance for your property. It keeps the decision-making process in your hands and out of the courts, saving your estate time and money.
How to Do It: For each bequest, simply add a clause such as, “…but if [Primary Beneficiary’s Name] does not survive me, then I give this property to [Contingent Beneficiary’s Name].”

6. Instructions for Your Debts and Expenses

Many people focus only on distributing assets, but a will can also provide instructions on how to handle liabilities. Your estate is responsible for paying off your debts, such as mortgages, credit card balances, and medical bills, before any assets can be distributed to heirs.

What to Include: You can specify which assets should be sold to pay off your debts. For example, you might direct your executor to sell a stock portfolio rather than a piece of real estate.
Why It’s Important: Providing these instructions gives your executor clear guidance and can protect certain assets you want to pass on to your family intact.
How to Do It: A clause in your will can direct your executor to pay all your legally enforceable debts and funeral expenses from a specific source or from the general estate funds.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between a will and a living trust? A will is a legal document that only takes effect after you pass away. It goes through a court process called probate to be validated. A living trust, on the other hand, is active while you are alive. You transfer your assets into the trust, and a trustee you appoint manages them. Trusts can help your heirs avoid the time and expense of probate.

How often should I review and update my will? It’s a good practice to review your will every three to five years, or after any major life event. This includes events like a marriage, divorce, the birth of a child or grandchild, a significant change in your financial situation, or the death of a beneficiary or executor.

Does a will need to be notarized? For a will to be legally valid, it must be signed by you (the testator) in front of two witnesses, who must also sign it. While notarization is not always required for the will itself, many people also sign a “self-proving affidavit” in front of a notary. This affidavit simplifies the probate process later, as the court can accept the will without needing to contact the witnesses.