As your final word to a world which you have left, your will is just about the most important thing you will ever write. You will naturally want to make sure that everyone you care for is provided for, and that disputes are avoided as far as is possible. This can be a very complicated process, as most of us accumulate various family and friends in our time on this earth. Offending someone when you are alive is bad enough, but at least you can apologize and make amends. If you offend them in the making of your will, then they will remember you with some level of animosity for as long as they live.



The complicated process of making a will can bring some extra hardship to carrying out a process that is usually hard enough already. It forces you to make some stark decisions and choices, and to face up to your own mortality. To be legally watertight, a will will also need to be couched in the correct terminology. This can be harder than it looks, as legal language is another level entirely from perfectly eloquent English. There are Latinate terms that are liable to confuse anyone who is not a Roman scholar, so to make sure that you have a fair grasp of what you are formalizing, it is helpful to have some knowledge of what certain terms mean and how they will affect your final gift.

As the person making the will, you are to be known as the testator – the person who is making a testament. And by creating a will you ensure that you will die testate as opposed to intestate. This is a highly desirable state of affairs, as dying without making a will means that it will be up to the courts to decide the bestowing of your property. Even with the best of intentions, however, some people's wills end up being looked over by the courts in what is termed probate. For probate to go the way that you would wish, it is important to nominate someone to carry out your wishes in your own absence. This person, named in your will, will be the executor. If the person is female they may be referred to as the executrix.

If you come to make changes to your will, they need to be done correctly, notarized and ratified by a lawyer. This amendment is known by the Latin term codicil. To leave property of a personal nature – characterized as anything movable such as jewelry or collected trinkets – is referred to as a bequest and by doing so you are bequeathing it. Whereas a bequest of “real property”, such as houses, business or land, is a devise and whoever receives it is a devisee. Anything left by you in a will can be referred to as a legacy, with the person receiving it known as a legatee. A specific piece of property left in a will is a demonstrative or specific legacy.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational and entertainment purposes only, and should not be construed as legal advice on any subject matter.