Private client estate counsel
A will does not avoid probate. Your beneficiary designations outrank it. A trust you never funded does nothing at all. Estates with real assets behind them do not fail on intent — they fail on execution, and the family learns it in open court.
Wylse advises families, founders and fiduciaries on generational transfer. The library below is our public education arm.
The Secrets
General US principles, stated plainly. State law varies where noted — which is precisely why the state-by-state sheets exist.
It is instructions for the probate court. Avoiding probate takes non-probate transfers: a funded living trust, beneficiary designations, joint ownership, TOD/POD accounts.
Once filed, it is generally open to anyone. Living trusts stay private. Access rules and online availability vary by county.
Life insurance, 401(k)s, IRAs and TOD/POD accounts pass by contract to whoever is named on the form. An ex-spouse still listed on a 1998 form usually still inherits.
Between retirement accounts, insurance, joint accounts and trust assets, most people's largest holdings never touch the will. Estate planning is a coordination job.
Signing is step one. Retitling the house, the accounts and the business interests into the trust's name is step two — and it is the step people skip.
Most states honor a separate personal property memorandum — a list of tangible items you update anytime, no witnesses needed. Only if the will authorizes it, and only for tangibles.
A short notarized add-on where your witnesses swear to the signing. Without it, probate may require finding those witnesses years later to testify.
Nearly every state requires two witnesses. Some bar beneficiaries from witnessing — an "interested witness" can void their own gift. Electronic and remote signing rules differ sharply.
Portability generally has to be elected on a timely federal estate tax return — even when no tax is due. Families who skip the filing because "the estate was under the limit" can forfeit an enormous shelter for the second death.
Many states will not enforce it against a challenger who had probable cause, and a couple will not enforce it at all. It also does nothing to someone you left nothing.
Courts appoint on a best-interests standard. Your choice carries real weight but can be overridden — so name an alternate and write down why you chose them.
If a child dies before you, one phrase sends their share down to their own children; the other redistributes it among your surviving children. Defaults vary by state.
Want these as a one-page PDF you can keep? Get it free with the starter checklist.
Make it hold up
Most wills that fail do not fail on their contents. They fail on execution — the wrong number of witnesses, a beneficiary who signed as one, a missing affidavit, a state that never recognized the format.
Inventory, beneficiaries, executor, guardians, per stirpes or per capita. The free checklist walks all twelve.
A will alone is a partial plan. The pack pairs it with the POA, healthcare directive, HIPAA release and personal property memorandum.
Witness counts, interested-witness rules, notarization, self-proving affidavit, remote signing — one sheet per state, kept current.
A look inside
Free download
Twelve things to settle before you write a single word of your will. Plus the 12 Secrets as a one-page PDF.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. This is legal education, not legal advice.
Access
The library is self-help. The last tier is representation. We are careful about the line between them, and so should you be.
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Memberships renew automatically at the then-current rate until cancelled. Cancel any time from your dashboard in two clicks, or by email — cancellation stops all future charges and you keep access through the period you paid for. We email a reminder before every annual renewal.
Who is behind this
Every document and every state sheet is reviewed by a licensed attorney before it ships, and dated so you can see when. Nothing here is anonymous.
When you need those things, you need a lawyer in your state — and we would rather say so here than after you have paid.
Questions
No. Wylse publishes legal education and self-help forms. Nothing on this site or in any download is legal advice, and buying a product does not create an attorney-client relationship. Estate law varies by state and changes over time; no form can account for your specific circumstances. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.
The documents are drafted to general US standards and ship with a signing and witnessing sheet for each state, because validity turns on execution — witness count, whether beneficiaries may witness, notarization, and whether a self-proving affidavit is available. Meeting those requirements is your responsibility, and the sheets exist to make it straightforward.
That is exactly the kind of question we are not permitted to answer for you, because the answer depends on your assets, your state and your family. What we can do is explain how each instrument behaves — which the Secrets section and the free checklist do — so the conversation with a lawyer is shorter and cheaper.
The pack is a snapshot: the current edition of all fourteen documents, yours to keep. The membership keeps that snapshot current — revisions when the law moves or your life changes, version history, the 50-state change log, and a monthly lesson.
Two clicks in your dashboard under Manage Membership, or one email to support@wylse.com. Cancellation stops all future charges immediately and you keep access until the end of the period you already paid for. There is no retention maze.
Digital downloads are delivered instantly and are generally non-refundable once downloaded. If something does not work as described or you cannot access it, email support@wylse.com within 30 days and we will fix it or refund you.
Because the checklist is the part everyone needs and almost nobody has. If it is not the clearest thing you have read on the subject, there is no reason for you to buy anything else.
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Start here
The Estate Planning Starter Checklist, plus the 12 Secrets PDF.
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