FreeWill & Funeral Wishes
With FreeWill you can choose to include wishes for your funeral and final resting place, which allows you to name the person (and any backup in case your first choice cannot act) you’d like to be responsible for carrying out your funeral and final resting place instructions (aka your funeral executor) and specify those wishes.
The wishes you enter will provide instructions to your funeral executor. We recommend that you keep these instructions separate from your estate planning documents, as these instructions usually need to be acted upon quickly prior to asset distribution.
Please note that funeral wishes included in your will not be legally binding. If you'd like your funeral wishes to be legally binding, it's best to consult with an attorney in your state to confirm what signing formalities would be needed to accomplish that.
How to add funeral wishes in FreeWill
- Login or create your FreeWill account by going to freewill.com and follow the steps of creating a new will
- If you already have a will with FreeWill, click on your name in the upper-right-hand corner of the screen or follow this link.
- Click on 'My Documents'
- Select 'View/Edit' of your 'Last Will & Testament' document
- Select the 'Funeral' section in the top progress tracker
How to add a charity to my funeral wishes
FreeWill’s will-making tool also allows you to choose any charities that you would like your loved ones to support in your memory.
Simply click on “Add charity” and input the information about your charity. If a nonprofit is a FreeWill partner, their name may appear as you begin typing, and you can simply click the name to make your selection. The rest of the identifying information will pre-populate. In certain cases, you’ll be asked where you’d like the gift in your memory to be directed. You are free to select from among the sub-programs (e.g. scholarships, athletics, faculty and academic support, heart health, children’s medicine) or to choose the organization’s area of greatest need.
- Login or create your FreeWill account by going to freewill.com and follow the steps of creating a new will
- If you already have a will with FreeWill, click on your name in the upper right-hand corner of the screen or follow this link.
- Click on 'My Documents'
- Select 'View/Edit' of your 'Last Will & Testament' document
- Select the 'Funeral' section in the top progress tracker
- At the bottom of the page click 'Add Charity' and input the information about your charity.
Please know that in certain cases, you’ll be asked where you’d like the gift in your memory to be directed. You are free to select from among the sub-programs (e.g. scholarships, athletics, faculty and academic support, heart health, children’s medicine) or to choose the organization’s area of greatest need.
Disclaimer: FreeWill is not a law firm, and does not provide legal advice. While FreeWill strives to ensure that its automated services are complete, they are meant purely as self-help forms. The materials and services are not substitutes for the advice of an attorney