A will is a legal document that specifies your desires at the time of your death and allows your desires to be enforced. Wills permit you to do the following: appoint a personal representative to act on your behalf, appoint guardians for your minor children, appoint conservators for the assets of minor children, and provide for disposition of your property at death. In some states, a will also allows you to keep a separate updated list of tangible personal property dispositions, so you do not have to write a new will each time to decide to give something to someone else.

Current wills can revoke or change earlier wills. A will is necessary to disinherit a presumed heir, and a will can create a testamentary trust, a trust that is to be set up when you die. Unfortunately, creating a will does not avoid probate, even if the will creates a testamentary trust.

Some states, including Utah, consider holographic wills to be valid. A holographic will must be made completely in your own handwriting. It must include the date at the top and your signature at the bottom. Within the holographic will, you must name a guardian, alternate guardians, and a disposition of assets. It is not necessary to have either a notary or witnesses. Be careful if you decide to create a holographic will, however. You should consider consulting an attorney about the language, and you should use a holographic will only if you do not have significant assets or a complicated family situation. Remember that a will does not avoid probate