Clauses You Absolutely Must Have in Your Will

Even though the makers of form wills would have you believe that one size fits all, the truth is that every will is different just as every person’s life is different. That being said, however, there are certain “must-have” clauses that almost every will should contain. The following list contains some of these clauses:

Guardianship Clause

If you have small children then you absolutely need to have a guardianship clause in your will. This clause allows you to designate who will serve as guardian to your children, should you die prematurely and you are not survived by the other parent.

Declaration and Revocation Clauses

These clauses work as a team to remove any possible doubt that the document in which these clauses are contained is intended as your will. The declaration clause starts to convey this message, in that it is simply your statement that you declare the document to be your will. The revocation clause finishes the message by stating that you revoke any previous wills you have created.

Residuary Gifts Clause

Should you fail to specifically devise an item of your property in another section of your will, this clause serves as a “catch-all” for such omissions. For example, “All remaining property that is unaccounted for within this will I leave to my nephew, Tom.”

Debts and Taxes Clause

This clause simply states that your debts and taxes must be paid before your personal representative is allowed to give any of your assets to devisees named in the will.