All About Estates
By Courtney Lanthier
August 22nd, 2025
The Letter of Wishes is a non-binding document that is exactly as it sounds – a letter that accompanies a will and provides clarification to executors, trustees, or beneficiaries about the testator’s personal wishes and intentions.
As estate planning legal professionals, we sometimes lose sight of how difficult and confusing reading a Will can be, often full of “legalese” and sentences that seem to go on forever. An executor reading the will may not fully grasp what it is they are meant to do and how to make the difficult decisions they are asked to make, which can be a confusing spot to be in.
Oftentimes, the lawyer is there to assist and help the executor understand and interpret the Will from a legal perspective, but sometimes it may be helpful to have additional guidance from the testator in their own words.
A Letter of Wishes can be beneficial for many reasons, but a few of them are:
- Detailing the distribution of specific personal property
- Explaining funeral/burial arrangements
- Provide additional trustee guidance
- Provide explanations
While there are many benefits, it is important to remember that where there are pros, there are often also cons. To mitigate these downsides, the lawyer should clearly communicate the intent and limitations of the Letter of Wishes (“LOW”) with the testator. If the testator prepares the LOW, it should be provided to the lawyer for review to ensure it does not contradict the will. As well, the testator should review it regularly to ensure it still aligns with current wishes and changing circumstances.
