Legal
Last Will and Testament
A last will and testament is a legal document in which a person — the testator — directs how their property is distributed after death, names an executor to settle the estate, and can nominate guardians for minor children. To be valid it must be signed and witnessed; it takes effect only at death and can be revoked or amended anytime before then.
Just 24% of American adults have a will — meaning roughly three in four have no legal document directing who inherits their property.
Written & maintained by the Granite team · Last updated June 2026
Overview
A will is the cornerstone of an estate plan. The testator signs it in front of witnesses — most states require two — who attest that the testator was of sound mind and signed willingly. Many wills also carry a notarized self-proving affidavit, which lets the will be admitted to probate without tracking down the witnesses to testify years later. A will that names no executor, or that no one can find, still has to go through probate, just with more friction and delay.
A will is not the same as a living trust or a living will. A living trust holds assets during life and passes them outside probate; a living will (advance directive) directs end-of-life medical care, not property. A codicil is a signed, witnessed amendment to an existing will rather than a fresh one. The single most important practical fact about a will: the probate court needs the original signed document — a photocopy usually isn't enough — so where you keep it matters as much as what it says.
When you’ll get your Last Will and Testament
- You want to control who inherits your property instead of your state's default intestacy rules
- You have minor children and want to name a guardian
- You're the executor or family member locating a deceased relative's will to open probate
- You bought a home, married, divorced, or had a child and need to update an old will
- You're consolidating your estate-planning documents in one place your family can find
What’s on your Last Will and Testament
These are the fields Granite reads and extracts automatically the moment you upload one.
- Testator
- The person whose will this is — whose signature makes it effective. Highly sensitive.
- Execution Date
- The date the will was signed and witnessed. The most recent valid will controls.
- Governing State
- The state whose law governs the will, named in the 'State of ___' header.
- Executor / Personal Representative
- The person named to administer the estate, plus any alternates if they can't serve.
- Beneficiaries
- Who inherits, and in what shares. Highly sensitive.
- Guardian for Minor Children
- The person nominated to raise minor children, when the will includes a guardianship clause.
- Witnesses & Notary
- The attesting witnesses, and the notary if a self-proving affidavit is attached.
- Self-Proving Affidavit
- Whether a notarized affidavit is included — it lets the will skip live witness testimony at probate.
How long to keep it
Keep the original signed will permanently, and make sure your executor knows where it is.
A will is one of the few documents where the original signed copy — not a scan or photocopy — is what the probate court needs. If the original can't be found after death, many states presume it was deliberately destroyed and revoked, which can push the estate into intestacy as if no will existed. Store the original somewhere safe and accessible to your executor (a fireproof safe, your attorney's office, or your state probate court's will-deposit service), keep a clear copy with your records, and tell the executor where the original lives. Update it after marriage, divorce, a new child, or a major asset change.
How Granite handles your Last Will and Testament
Granite recognizes a will on upload, reads the testator, executor, execution date, governing state, and witnesses, and files it under encryption with your estate-planning documents. The testator becomes a person in your vault, so the will sits alongside the deeds, accounts, insurance policies, and beneficiary designations it's meant to coordinate. Sensitive details — beneficiaries, the executor, guardians — are encrypted at rest, and the document is searchable by name and year so your executor (or you) can find the right version instantly instead of hunting through a filing cabinet. Granite stores your scan; the original signed will still belongs in a safe place your executor can reach.
FAQ
Last Will and Testament: common questions
- Can you write your own last will and testament?
- Yes. In every U.S. state you can write your own will without a lawyer, including with a template or online service. To be valid it generally must be in writing, signed by you, and signed by witnesses (most states require two) who watched you sign. A few states also recognize handwritten (holographic) wills. The harder part isn't writing it — it's signing it correctly and keeping the original somewhere it can be found.
- What makes a will legally valid?
- The testator must be a competent adult, sign the will (or direct someone to sign for them), and do so in front of the required number of witnesses, who also sign. The witnesses confirm the testator signed willingly and appeared of sound mind. Notarization isn't required for the will itself, but a notarized self-proving affidavit is commonly added so the court doesn't have to contact the witnesses during probate.
- What is the difference between a will and a living trust?
- A will takes effect only at death and must go through probate — the court-supervised process of validating it and distributing the estate. A living trust holds assets during your lifetime and passes them to beneficiaries outside of probate, which can be faster and more private. Many people have both: a trust for major assets and a 'pour-over' will to catch anything left out. A will, unlike a trust, is also where you name a guardian for minor children.
- What is a codicil?
- A codicil is a signed, witnessed amendment to an existing will. It's used for small changes — swapping an executor, adding a bequest — without rewriting the whole document. A codicil has to be executed with the same formalities as a will (signed and witnessed). For larger changes, many attorneys now recommend signing a new will instead, to avoid confusion between conflicting documents.
- Where should I keep my last will and testament?
- Keep the original signed will somewhere safe and accessible to your executor — a home fireproof safe, your attorney's office, or your state probate court's will-for-safekeeping service (many courts will seal and store a living person's will for a small fee). Avoid a bank safe deposit box unless your executor is a co-renter, since it can be sealed at death and hard to open. Tell your executor exactly where the original is, and keep a copy with your other records.
- What happens if you die without a will?
- You're said to die 'intestate,' and your state's intestacy laws decide who inherits — typically a spouse and children in fixed shares, then more distant relatives. The court, not you, appoints the administrator of your estate and the guardian of any minor children. That default rarely matches what most people would have chosen, which is why even a simple will matters.
Sources
This page is checked against primary and authoritative sources:
Keep your Last Will and Testament in one place.
Drop it in once. Granite reads it, files it, and makes it findable forever — by you today, and by the people who'll need it later.