Why Your Will Shouldn't Be Complicated

Because someone else has to run it when you’re not around.

Most Wills aren’t complicated because the law requires it. They get complicated because clients bring in bad ideas from advisors, family, friends, and the internet, and most professionals say yes instead of no.

More clauses, more conditions, and more attempts to control things from the grave don’t make a plan stronger. They make it harder to follow, harder to explain, and more likely to blow up when someone’s grieving or angry.

I’m not against detail. My Wills aren’t short. They include fallback instructions, worst-case backups, and enough protective language to hold up under pressure. But the plan underneath is simple and easy to follow, exactly because I’ve talked the client out of making it messy.

You don’t need to strip it down. You need to keep it from spiralling out. That means saying no when something will leave a wide fallout, even if it sounds smart in theory.

I write every Will for three people. The client, who needs to understand it now. The executor, who has to follow it under stress. And the next lawyer, who may need to defend it when things go wrong.

If the plan feels simple, it’s because the complexity was handled properly. That’s not a shortcut. That’s what planning is.

If you’re ready for a plan that holds up in real life, book a call →

This site shares real-world insights from my work as an estate planning lawyer. It’s not legal advice, I'm not your lawyer, and it won’t cover every situation. But it will show you what tends to go wrong—and what usually holds up.