will

Also known as testament, last will, last will and testament, will and testament, Testament

legal declaration by which a person names one or more persons to manage their estate and provide for the distribution of their property at death (common law)

AI overview

A will is a legal document in which you specify who will manage your property and how it should be distributed after you die. It matters because it allows you to control what happens to your belongings and ensures your wishes are followed rather than leaving these decisions to default laws.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Research

1,627,778 papers

Free will without consciousness?ReviewTrends in cognitive sciences · 2022Mudrik L, Arie IG, Amir Y et al.DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2022.03.005
Neurons as will and representation.ReviewNature reviews. Neuroscience · 2022Fried IDOI: 10.1038/s41583-021-00543-8
The place of Free Will: the freedom of the prisoner.ReviewNeurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2024Nichelli PF, Grafman JDOI: 10.1007/s10072-023-07138-4
Free will: An Example of the Dopaminergic System.ReviewIntegrative psychological & behavioral science · 2024Ivlieva NDOI: 10.1007/s12124-024-09828-w
Why neuroscience does not disprove free will.ReviewNeuroscience and biobehavioral reviews · 2019Brass M, Furstenberg A, Mele ARDOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.04.024
[Disorders of the will in psychopathology].ReviewDer Nervenarzt · 2017Fuchs T, Broschmann DDOI: 10.1007/s00115-017-0323-1
Free will and neurosurgical resections of the supplementary motor area: a critical review.ReviewActa neurochirurgica · 2021Sjöberg RLDOI: 10.1007/s00701-021-04748-9
Précis of the illusion of conscious will.ReviewThe Behavioral and brain sciences · 2004Wegner DMDOI: 10.1017/s0140525x04000159

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Wikidata facts

Image: Testament de Jacques de Batencourt, 11 août 1652.pdf

Show 3 more facts

Commons category: Wills
native label: testamentum
P8168: Bàscara

Sources (3)

via Wikidata · CC0

~27 min read

Article

A will and testament is a legal document that expresses a person's (testator) wishes as to how their property (estate) is to be distributed after their death and as to which person (executor) is to manage the property until its final distribution. For the distribution (devolution) of property not determined by a will, see inheritance and intestacy.

Though it has been thought a "will" historically applied only to real property, while "testament" applied only to personal property (thus giving rise to the popular title of the document as "last will and testament"), records show the terms have been used interchangeably. Thus, the word "will" validly applies to both personal and real property. A will may also create a testamentary trust that is effective only after the death of the testator.