Your will is the document that the probate judge uses to make sure everything you planned for your estate happens. While your will is the appropriate place for many aspects of your personal affairs, a few, such as your funeral plans, do not belong.
What else does not go into an effective will? You may find the answer to this surprising.
Why should funeral plans not go into your will?
You want to do the responsible thing and take the burden of planning your funeral from the shoulders of your family. However, putting these wishes in a will does not alleviate things. The time between your death and the reading of your will is too substantial to make any funeral plans relevant. Putting these down elsewhere in your estate plan is more appropriate.
Do you put beneficiaries in your will?
The court will want the administrator you appoint to go through and follow the wishes of your will. This includes disposing of your property to heirs that you name. You cannot give certain items through a will.
For instance, you cannot appoint or change a beneficiary for insurance policies or retirement accounts in your will. You cannot direct the administrator to take money from one person and give it to another. The place to handle insurance policies and any other fiduciary tool with a beneficiary is in those accounts.
Your will acts as your final service for your family. Ensure that you do everything in it and other estate documents sooner rather than later.