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Glossary · General

Letter of wishes

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By the Money Guide editorial team · Editorial responsibility: Kaiser Khan, Editorial Director · How we check facts

Definition: A non-binding document sitting alongside the will that gives executors and trustees guidance — for example which child gets a keepsake or how to use a discretionary trust.

A letter of wishes is private (the will becomes public after probate) and can be updated without re-witnessing. It carries moral weight but no legal force.

Used most often with discretionary trust wills, where the trustees decide between a class of beneficiaries. The letter explains the testator's preferences and family context without locking trustees into a fixed share.

Primary source: moneyhelper.org.uk/family-and-care/death-and-bereavement/making-a-will

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