Leaving Property to Others

Last updated 7/18/2026

Three ways property passes at death

Property generally transfers through one of three mechanisms, and they don’t always agree with each other:

1. Your will, which goes through probate.
2. A living trust, which avoids probate for anything titled in the trust’s name.
3. Beneficiary designations and joint ownership, which pass directly to the named person regardless of what your will says.

Why this trips people up

A common mistake: someone updates their will to leave everything to their children, but forgets that a life insurance policy still lists an ex-spouse as beneficiary. The policy pays the ex-spouse — the will has no say in the matter.

Specific gifts vs. residual estate

You can leave specific items (“my grandmother’s ring to my niece”) or divide the remainder of your estate by percentage. Percentages age better than dollar amounts, since they scale with your estate’s actual value at the time of death.

Digital assets

Don’t forget accounts that live entirely online — domain names, cryptocurrency wallets, photo libraries. If no one knows they exist or how to access them, they’re effectively lost.