SECTION 4 · SPECIFIC BEQUESTS
Before we get to “everything else” (residuary estate), we’ll capture any specific things you want to leave to specific people. Even one line counts — like grandmother’s ring to Maya.
Beautifully done. Sam is your primary executor with Priya as backup — that’s drafted into Article III. Let’s move into the heart of your will.
Section 4 is for specific gifts: items or amounts you want to leave to particular people, before everything else is split among your residuary beneficiaries. Most wills have between zero and a dozen of these.
A “specific bequest” protects an item from being sold to settle debts or being lumped into the general pool. If you want Maya to keep the pearl necklace no matter what, this section is where it gets locked in.Are there specific items, amounts, or charitable gifts you’d like to include? Examples: a piece of jewelry, a piano, a specific dollar amount to a niece, $5,000 to a charity, your record collection.
Yes, I have a few. My grandmother’s pearl necklace should go to Maya. And I want to leave $10,000 to The Trevor Project.
Got it — I’ve added both to Article IV. Quick clarification on each:
The pearl necklace: if Maya predeceases you, where should it go? (Common choices: Sam holds it for her child, passes to Noah, or returns to residuary.)
The Trevor Project gift: should this be a fixed $10,000 even if the estate shrinks, or a percentage so it scales? Fixed is more common; percentage protects the estate if things go sideways.
These “what if” clauses (called “gifts over”) prevent items from going into legal limbo if your first choice can’t inherit. Without them, a court decides.