When someone leaves behind a handwritten will, they probably had good intentions. They took the time to write something down. They put their wishes in their own words. On its face, that can feel like enough. But creating a will isn’t only about intentions, there are legal hoops that must be jumped through.

Howard Hughes is a well-known example of how that can go wrong. After his death in 1976, a handwritten document surfaced that appeared to outline how he wanted his humongous estate distributed. It quickly became the center of national attention. Where was it found? When did he write it? Was it even authentic?

Those questions weren’t easy to answer. The document was challenged, scrutinized, and ultimately rejected by the court. Despite the existence of a handwritten “plan,” Hughes was treated as though he had no valid will at all. His estate fell back on the state’s default rules, and what followed was years of litigation and uncertainty.

Why Should I Care?

Most estates don’t involve mysterious documents or national headlines. But handwritten wills still show up in everyday situations:

• A note written at home and kept with personal papers 
• A document started with good intentions but never finalized 
• Instructions written down without much thought to legal requirements 

In Idaho, a handwritten will can be valid but only if the material portions are in the person’s handwriting and it’s clear they intended it to function as a will.

Even when those requirements are met, a handwritten will doesn’t avoid probate and doesn’t eliminate uncertainty. It still has to be located, accepted by the court, and interpreted if questions arise.

What feels simple to write can be complicated to carry out. A handwritten will sits in an uncomfortable middle ground. It’s not the same as having no plan, but it doesn’t provide the clarity of a well-structured one either.

If it doesn’t meet the legal requirements, it may be ignored entirely. If it does, it can still leave room for interpretation, delay, and dispute. Either way, the outcome may look very different from what was intended.

The Bottom Line

Writing something down is a good instinct. But for that will to work, it must do more than express intent. That means following the legal requirements, making sure the document can be found, and understanding how it fits into the probate process.

Without that, even a handwritten will can lead right back to the same place as no plan at all.

A Practical First Step

If you’ve written down your wishes, or are thinking about it, the next step is making sure those instructions will actually work when they’re needed.

Taking that extra step now can prevent a lot of uncertainty later.

-Jane Powell

In law school, we learned legal principles by examining real cases and hypotheticals. We saw how the law works through the lens of what happens when things go wrong. In estate planning these cases often read like a soap opera script, with secret families, coerced will changes, hidden assets, and murder for money. But most estate problems don’t arise from dramatic circumstances. They come from something much simpler: no plan at all.

One of the most well-known examples is the estate of Prince. In 2016, the death of pop-rock icon Prince shocked the music world; his lack of any estate plan soon shocked the legal world.

With no will, trust, or any clear expression of his wishes, his $200+ million estate went to probate. The court was left to apply the state’s default rules for inheritance. When you die without a plan, the court doesn’t try to guess what you would have wanted. It applies a one-size-fits-all set of default rules. And as anyone who has ever bought a ‘one-size-fits-all’ item knows, it rarely fits anyone well.

What followed were six years of litigation, administrative complications, and public disputes among family members. Most of this could have been avoided with basic estate planning.

What Would a Plan Have Changed?

If Prince had created even a simple estate plan, it would have allowed him to:

• Decide who would receive his assets.
• Appoint someone he trusted to manage his estate.
• Provide clear instructions for handling his music rights and business interests.
• Avoid unnecessary conflict among family members.
• Significantly reduce the time and cost of administration.

Instead, those decisions were made by statute and enforced by the courts.

And Why Should I Care?

This situation is not unique to celebrities. If you don’t create an estate plan to memorialize your wishes, state law determines who receives your assets, when, and how.

In Idaho, those laws are based on legal family relationships.

If someone is married, their spouse may receive all of their estate. If there is no surviving spouse, the estate typically passes to their children. And if those children are minors, someone may need to be appointed to manage their funds until they reach adulthood. Then, at eighteen, they would receive their entire inheritance.

If you were making a plan yourself, you might make those same choices. But the law’s one-size-fits-all rules tend to fit poorly in less traditional family situations. Your wishes for a blended family, unmarried partner, or estranged relative often don’t align with how the default rules actually work.

Additionally, assets may need to go through probate before they can be distributed, which adds time, cost, and administrative complexity.

The Bottom Line

Estate planning gives you control. It’s about making decisions now, so your wishes are clear, your family has direction, and the transition is as smooth as possible.

Without a plan, the law steps in and makes those decisions for you.

A Practical First Step

If you have been putting off estate planning, the first step is simply to start the conversation.Understanding your options and putting even a basic plan in place can make a significant difference for your family in the future.

-Jane Powell