Written document (testament) by which a person (the testator) directs how his or her assets (estate) are to be distributed upon death. Among other provisions, a will may appoint executors to administer the estate, name guardian for a child, and/or make arrangement for payment of obligations. Commonly, the law requires that the testator must have testamentary capacity when making the will, and that it be witnessed by two or more credible witnesses. It is not always necessary, however, that the will bears the signature of the testator. Someone else may sign it on behalf of, and in the presence of, the testator and a required number of witnesses.
A will is (1) not effective until the death of the testator, (2) can be amended by duly executed alterations or by attaching a supplementary document (called codicil), and (3) can be revoked at any time by the testator (a) by its destruction, or (b) by making another will that revokes the earlier will or is inconsistent with it provisions. Because the law generally presumes the testator would want a different manner of distribution of estate upon his or her marriage, remarriage, or divorce, a will is usually automatically revoked upon such occurrence except where the testator intended it (at the time of making the will) to survive such acts. A testator may make different wills that relate to different assets, but any provision relating to a particular asset will be invalidated by an inconsistent provision in a later will.
Most states require that the will be witnessed by two individuals and signed by the writer at the end of the document. After death, the will is submitted to the probate court of the county or city in which the individual resided. The probate process can be fairly quick or protracted, depending on the complexity of the estate and whether there are legal challenges to the will.