Having a proper estate plan in place is essential, regardless of how much money you have, as it does more than distribute your assets; it outlines how your personal affairs will be managed after you’re gone and the kind of medical care you want to receive. Estate planning is especially important for women and single adults, who often have fewer assets or support as they age.
Unfortunately, many Americans underestimate the importance of estate planning. Only 24% of Americans have a will in 2025 (down from 33% in 2022), and more than 50% of people who don’t have a will say it’s because they don’t have enough assets, according to Caring.com’s 2025 Wills and Estate Planning Study. A whopping 43% simply say they just haven't gotten around to it. And almost one in four respondents who did have a will admitted to not updating the document since it was first written.
No one wants to think about death, though, especially their own. So, if the idea of estate planning has got you down, start with a will. It's the anchor of your estate plan and can help avoid probate, which forces your heirs to enter a potentially lengthy legal process to distribute your assets.
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Things you should leave out of your will
Not everything should be included in your will. Here are 10 things to leave out.
1. Gifts or bequests to a child or other individual with special needs
It's important to be very careful when leaving assets to a person with special needs, says Melissa Negrin-Wiener, ESQ., Senior Partner, Cona Elder Law. "Often, that individual receives government benefits that are means-tested (i.e., Medicaid, SSI), and leaving assets outright to them can cause them to lose their government benefits or the inheritance. If you are leaving assets to a person with special needs in your Will, be sure to leave it in a Supplemental Needs Trust.”
2. Pets, and money for their care
"We love our four-legged family members and often want to ensure they are looked after even if we pass before they do," says Russel Morgan, Principal at Morgan Legal Group. "But pets are considered property and can’t be named as beneficiaries or inherit anything from a will."
Morgan adds that you could earmark a certain amount of money and ask a family member to care for the pet, but once the funds are released to them, there is no legal obligation to follow your exact wishes. "So, it is best to leave pets out of the will and instead set up a pet trust to ensure the well-being of your furry friend.”
3. Non-probate assets
"Your will only controls the transfer of probate assets. Non-probate assets are all assets that have a designated beneficiary, such as life insurance, 401(k), brokerage accounts, IRAs, and even bank accounts that can name a beneficiary and be non-probate," says Daniel R. Bernard, Trusts and Estate Attorney.
"If you name someone to take a non-probate asset in your will, the problem is that the beneficiary designation will supersede your will," Bernard said. "If you have the same named beneficiary on the account and in the will, this is not a problem. If the beneficiaries are different, this can cause contention and invite a challenge to your estate plan."
4. Terms that leave fixed, high or unrealistic dollar amounts to individuals
If your estate doesn’t have as much money in it someday as you assume, you could be draining funds away from your primary beneficiaries, because your will is stuck with a large, fixed sum of money that is required to pay out, says Andrew Rosenberg, Estate Planning Attorney, Grieve Civil Law.
"For example, if your will said “I leave $100,000.00 to my friend, Robert, and the rest in equal shares to my children,” and you wind up only having $50,000.00 in your estate when you pass away, your children likely won’t receive anything because they are stuck with Robert’s large bequest ahead of their residuary distribution. It is much better to leave property in shares or percentages to your beneficiaries, which allows your estate to flexibly adapt to any size of a portfolio."
5. Conditional gifts
Jonathan Geserick, Estate Planning Attorney, Texas Probate Pros, recommends not including any conditional gifts. For instance, "if Anna stays married to Ben, Mary shall receive $100,000 from my assets." We want to exclude conditional gifts because they can lead to complications and legal challenges and make the estate more difficult to settle."
6. Secure information
"I regularly explain to clients that social security numbers, financial account information and passwords to accounts should never be provided within the will itself," says Ashley N. Higginbotham, Supervising Attorney, Deming, Parker, Hoffman, Campbell & Daly, LLC.
"The reason is that upon death, the will is filed with the Court in the State where the decedent lived. At that point, the will is a “public” document whereby potential heirs and court staff may view it." Besides that, such information opens the possibility for individuals who are not otherwise authorized to access the accounts to now possibly gain access and wipe out those accounts.
"If you want to ease the burden on your executor to identify your assets, debts, accounts and passwords, consider creating a separate document for that information and safekeeping it with your will and other important documents. If it is a separate document, it does not have to be filed like the will and could be extremely helpful to your executor."
7. Funeral instructions
Jamie E. Wright, Founder of The Wright Law Firmwarns that you shouldn't specify funeral arrangements in your will; they may not be reviewed until after the funeral. "Instead, communicate your wishes directly with your loved ones prior to your passing or include them in a separate document."
8. Guns
"There is one class of assets that I would absolutely exclude from distribution by will — guns. Guns are a unique asset and require the owner meet state and federal regulations (i.e. minimum age, mental capacity, etc.), and for that reason, we encourage gun trusts to transfer and track those gifts without running afoul of the law," states Monique Hayes, Estate Planning Attorney and Partner at DGIM Law
9. Disparagement's to potential beneficiaries
Barnard also warns about including any disparagement's to potential beneficiaries. "I have represented many clients who wanted to disinherit a child and wanted to list the reason. This will just cause more hurt feelings, and anger, and could lead to a challenge of your Will. It is much better to simply state 'for reasons best known to me I make no provision for X."
10. Business interests
Negrin-Wiener offers this advice: "Passing business interests within a Trust will allow for more privacy when it comes to business holdings and information."
Michael Dale, Vice President of Investment Services at Navy Federal Investment Services agrees. "Consider setting up a separate agreement for the distribution of your business to avoid probate and ensure a smooth transition."
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