Most people are surprised to learn that the Book of Common Prayer has an opinion about wills. It does. Tucked into the instructions after the Thanksgiving for the Birth or Adoption of a Child, the Prayer Book tells the minister to teach people to make wills “while they are in health” (BCP p. 445). It also asks them to think about leaving something to the church and to charity.

I have been reading that rubric for years. Here is what I think it gets right.

First, the timing. “While they are in health” means now, not in the hospital. A will signed in a hurry, by someone in pain, is the kind families end up fighting over.

Second, it treats a will as part of your faith, not separate from it. The prayer for the right use of God’s gifts (BCP p. 827) asks for grace to be “faithful stewards” and to remember “the account which we must one day give.” Your will is the last account you give of what you were entrusted with.

Third, it puts the family first and the gift second. The Prayer Book never says to leave everything to the church. It says to provide for the people who depend on you, and then consider a gift.

A will is not the whole job. In Washington, your beneficiary forms on retirement accounts and life insurance often move more money than your will does, and they pass outside it. A health care directive and powers of attorney speak for you while you are alive but can’t speak for yourself.

If you don’t have these documents, pick one and start this month. If you have them, find out when you last read them.

General education only, not legal or tax advice. Laws change, and the right answer depends on your facts. Reading this or contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship. Centerbridge Law Group, PLLC, 1610 Commercial Avenue, Suite 203, Anacortes, Washington 98221.