Your Wishes Help

Record personal wishes to guide your Executors and family

A Statement of Wishes is an optional document that sits alongside your Will. It helps your Executors and family understand your personal preferences for matters that are often practical, private, or time-sensitive.

It is not a substitute for your Will. Your Will remains the legally important document for appointing Executors and distributing your Estate. Your Statement of Wishes gives extra context, guidance, and reassurance where a clear personal note is more useful than a formal clause.

What can I include?

• Burial or cremation: your preference, location ideas, ashes, burial plot details, or cultural considerations.
• Funeral service: ceremony style, music, readings, speakers, tone, or memorial preferences.
• Organ donation: whether you wish to donate, any limits, and who you have told.
• Digital accounts: email, social media, cloud storage, subscriptions, websites, crypto, and where secure access instructions are kept.
• Pet care: who you would like to care for pets, vet details, routines, and practical care notes.
• Household requests: simple instructions that help family tidy up practical loose ends.
• Personal messages: short messages, values, or final words you want loved ones to receive.

How does it work with my Will?

• Your Will controls legal appointments, gifts, and Estate distribution.
• Your Statement of Wishes gives non-binding guidance where Executors or family may need to make practical decisions.
• The Statement of Wishes can usually be updated separately without re-signing your Will, provided it does not try to change the Will itself.
• Keep the latest copy with your Will or somewhere your Executors can find quickly.

How should I complete this page?

• Only switch on the sections that matter to you.
• Use plain, practical wording that another person can follow during a stressful time.
• Be specific enough to be useful, but avoid long instructions that create confusion or conflict.
• If you are unsure, say so. It is acceptable to leave a decision to your family or Executors.

Important privacy and security points

• Do not include passwords, seed phrases, PINs, private keys, or bank login details.
• Use a password manager, sealed letter, lawyer-held note, or secure digital asset list for access details.
• In the Wishes page, say where the secure list can be found, not what the secret details are.
• Personal messages can be private and meaningful, but keep them respectful and clear.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Trying to change gifts or Estate percentages in the Statement of Wishes instead of the Will.
• Writing funeral wishes as if they are guaranteed legal instructions.
• Including passwords or sensitive account recovery information.
• Leaving conflicting wishes, such as burial and cremation without saying which you prefer.
• Forgetting to tell Executors where the latest copy is stored.

Quick Questions

• Is it legally binding? It is guidance. Your Will remains the legal document for Estate distribution.
• Can I update it later? Yes. Keep the latest dated copy with your Will and tell your Executors where it is.
• Should I include passwords? No. Say where secure access instructions are kept instead.
• Can I see examples? Yes. Read our Statement of Wishes examples.