(MSN) - Estate lawyers say the real trouble with wills rarely comes from exotic tax tricks. It comes from basic, avoidable mistakes that leave families confused, angry and stuck in court. The biggest errors show up in the same places again and again: who you appoint, how clearly you write, and whether you ever bother to update what you signed.
Drawing on what I hear from practitioners and what recent guidance from estate planners highlights, the pattern is stark. People either do nothing at all, or they sign a will once and then let it gather dust while their lives, assets and relationships change around it.
Putting off a will, then signing it badly
Estate lawyers are blunt that the most damaging mistake is simply not making a will. One firm describes Not Making a will as mistake Number 1, and another calls procrastination the first of several Common Estate Planning. When someone dies without a will, state intestacy rules decide who gets what, which can sideline unmarried partners, stepchildren or charities entirely. Another advisory warns that Procrastinating on basic documents can be one of the costliest errors, because by the time a crisis hits, capacity or family consensus may already be gone.
Even when people do sit down to sign, they often trip over formalities. Lawyers who litigate will contests point out that Failing To Have is one of the most common technical missteps, and another firm lists Not signing properly as its first mistake. If witnesses are relatives who inherit, or if signatures are missing or out of order, a court can treat the document as invalid, effectively putting the estate back into intestacy despite the effort to plan.
Letting documents and beneficiaries go stale
Once a will is in place, the next big error is assuming it never needs to change. Estate planners repeatedly flag Failing to Update Estate Plans Regularly as one of the most common errors, and another warns that estate planning documents created decades ago may no longer align with current goals, listing that as Update Your Plan as a core priority. One national insurer notes that Here one of the biggest missteps is Failing to keep your will up to date after life events like marriage, divorce or becoming widowed, because the old terms can send assets to people you no longer intend to benefit.
The same problem shows up in beneficiary designations, which often override whatever the will says. Retirement accounts and life insurance policies rely on forms that, as one firm notes, are Beneficiary designation forms on retirement plans and insurance, and another advisory warns that Keeping Your Beneficiaries to Date can send money to an ex-spouse or omit a later child. A separate guide on will drafting calls Mistake No 2 Ignoring Beneficiaries, and another expert piece stresses that Designating them correctly is what actually controls how many assets are paid out.
Choosing the wrong people to be in charge
Who you appoint to carry out your wishes can matter as much as what the will says. Estate lawyers interviewed in Biggest Mistakes People warn that You assign co-executors far too often, usually to avoid hurt feelings among adult children. Another version of that guidance notes that You should definitely just pick one capable executor instead of forcing siblings to agree on every decision. A separate primer on executor duties lists the Top 10 executor mistakes, including not taking thorough inventory and missing court deadlines, which can expose the person you chose to personal liability.
Problems also arise when people name guardians or trustees without thinking through the workload or potential conflicts. One estate-planning checklist stresses that How to Avoid confusion is to Start with a clear basic plan that includes a will, durable power of attorney and health care directives, so no single person is left improvising in a crisis. Another advisory warns that Failing to involve all beneficiaries in conversations can fuel resentment, and it highlights #5, Inequity, with the line that Trying to treat everyone "equally" can be just as problematic as treating them differently if the people you pick to manage money feel blindsided or overburdened.
DIY shortcuts, vague language and forgotten assets
Cheap online templates and handwritten notes are another recurring flashpoint. One firm that cleans up after these situations warns that Family Conflicts often erupt because Ambiguities and errors in DIY wills pit relatives against one another during an already challenging time. A national financial institution notes that Failing to keep language precise can leave room for competing interpretations, especially around personal items with sentimental value. Another law firm that sees contested estates warns that the obvious mistake is not doing a will at all, but adds that this is just one of many errors that come with potentially serious consequences, noting that Everybody knows they should have one yet still fall into these missteps far too often.
Even when the wording is clear, people routinely forget entire categories of property. One guide to will drafting lists 10 COMMON MISTAKES to AVOID WHEN DRAFTING YOUR will, including leaving out small businesses and digital assets. Another advisory on estate planning mistakes notes that Ignoring Digital Assets is a growing problem, as photos, cryptocurrency and even domain names can have real value. A separate checklist on common errors in divorce planning reminds readers that Not all assets are equal when considering tax consequences, and that same logic applies in wills, where leaving a pre-tax retirement account to one child and a Roth IRA to another can create unintended inequities.
Overlooking taxes, fairness and the rest of the plan
Lawyers also see clients focus so narrowly on the will that they ignore the rest of the estate plan. One advisory urges people to Avoid confusion by making sure the will is paired with powers of attorney and health directives, and another guide on broader planning mistakes stresses that Dec guidance from Brenda Geiger in the Top 25 Estate Planning Mistakes People Make & How to Avoid Them starts with Mistake #1: Not Understanding How You own your assets. Another estate-planning firm warns that Common Mistakes and to Avoid Them often come down to failing to coordinate all estate planning documents properly, so the will, trusts and beneficiary forms tell the same story.
Fairness is another trap. One law firm that focuses on these disputes notes that Tomorrow is never guaranteed, and its #5, Inequity, warns that Trying to treat everyone "equally" can be just as problematic as treating them differently if one child has already received large lifetime gifts or another has special needs. A separate analysis of will mistakes points out that But having a will is not always enough, since beneficiary designations on accounts do not supersede those in the document. Another guide on writing a will warns that Regularly reviewing and updating your plan is the only way to keep those fairness judgments aligned with how your family and finances actually look.
Estate lawyers are clear that none of this requires perfection, only attention. One detailed list of pitfalls from Brenda Geiger on the Top Estate Planning Mistakes People Make & How to Avoid Them, another broad survey of Start with a basic estate plan, and the candid warnings in Dec guidance on 10 COMMON MISTAKES to AVOID WHEN DRAFTING YOUR will all converge on the same point. If you name the right people, keep your documents current, avoid DIY ambiguity and coordinate your will with the rest of your financial life, you dramatically reduce the odds that your legacy will be decided in a courtroom instead of around a kitchen table.
By Alexander Clark
January 18, 2026
