willn.
Reviewed by Owen Hathaway, AttorneyUpdated June 1, 2026A signed, witnessed document that says who gets a person's probate property after death and names an executor to carry it out. It takes effect only at death and only after probate.
A will is a written instrument, signed and witnessed under state law, that directs how a person's probate estate is distributed at death and names a personal representative to administer it. A will can also nominate guardians for minor children.
A will controls only property that passes through probate; it does not override beneficiary designations, jointly titled property, or assets held in trust. A will has no legal effect until the maker dies and the will is admitted to probate.
Colorado follows the Colorado Probate Code (C.R.S. Title 15) and recognizes holographic (handwritten) wills if the material portions are in the maker's handwriting. Wyoming requires two witnesses and generally does not recognize holographic wills. Execution formalities differ between the two states.
Related terms
- pour-over willA short will used alongside a living trust. It catches any asset left out of the trust at death and directs it into the trust, where the trust's terms take over.
- intestacyWhat happens when someone dies without a valid will: state law, not the person, decides who inherits.
- probateThe court-supervised process of proving a will, paying a deceased person's debts, and transferring what's left to the heirs or beneficiaries.
- personal representativeThe person appointed to settle a deceased person's estate such as gathering assets, paying debts, and distributing the rest. Older terms are executor (with a will) and administrator (without).
- guardianA person a court appoints (or a parent nominates) to make personal and care decisions for someone who can't, such as a minor child or an incapacitated adult.