subject: Language of a Will [print this page] Language of a Will Language of a Will
Language of a Will The language used in your WILL is important. If you write a letter or make an agreement which is ambiguous, someone may ask you to explain what you meant, and that is very simpleif you are alive. But after your death it is too late to explain what you meant by the particular words employed in that all-important and final document known as your "LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT." Tell your lawyer today what you want today, and let the lawyer draw the WILL. If you are a butcher, you can no more draw your own WILL then a lawyer could butcher a steer. This chapter explains some of the clauses commonly used in WILLS, and attempts to give you a greater familiarity with the language which your lawyer will use. Do not attempt to use any of the clauses without your lawyer's assistance. If the WILL contains a word which you do not understand, ask the lawyer to explain it. You understanding will be greater and the lawyer's work will be easier.
The clauses set forth in the following pages are by no means all-inclusive and as a rule only one example of a particular clause has been set forth. Your lawyer may have a variation and he may have a clause with language better suited to your own needs. Your lawyer will explain to you that a Will is like a suit of clothes: it does not fit everyone and must be tailored to your particular needs. The important document which you are to execute should be described as your WILL. To accomplish this purpose your lawyer will have his secretary type, or letter in script if your WILL is to be written in longhand, the words "Last Will and Testament of William Testator" or "William Testator, his Will" or "My Will."
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This introductory clause serves the dual purpose of identify ing you and of establishing that you are, in fact, executing and publishing the document which you recognize as your WILL. The full name by which you are known should be used. If you have been known as John Charles Testator, if you have signed all your checks as John Charles Testator, do not sign your WILL as "John Testator." If occasionally you have used the middle initial or the form J. Charles Testator, open your WILL by saying "I, John Charles Testator, also known as John C. Testator and as J. Charles Testator, do hereby make, pub lish and declare this to be my Last Will and Testament."
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If you have been known by a nickname or by more than one name, state your legal name and then state that you have sometimes been known as "Chuck Testator" or as "Charlie Testator." You should also state your residence for identification; and if you possess a frequently used name such as "John J. Smith," you should take further steps to insure identification, possibly including your Army Serial Number and the name of your wife or the names of your parents. Your introductory clause may be simple or flowery. It may be as short as "My WILL is as follows": or it may state that: "I, William Testator, of the City of Baton Rouge, East Baton Rouge Parish, State of Louisiana, do hereby make, publish and declare this to be my Last Will and Testament."
