Legal · free template

Will Instruction Form

Three-page will instruction questionnaire: executors and guardians, gifts and residue, funeral wishes and the checks a firm makes before drafting.

A ready-to-use legal & professional services form for law firms and in-house legal teams: 29 questions, 3 pages, 4 conditional rules.

Questions
29
Pages
3
Layouts
classic · card
Time to complete
≈ 10 min
Conditional rules
4
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Live preview and test console

This is the real form. Answer it to test the 1 conditional rule — nothing is sent or stored.

Page 1 of 3 — You and your family

About you

Include your country code.

Marital or partnership status
Do you have children under 18?

Every question on this page is currently visible.

Compliance checklist

Ready to publish
  • Payment items priced — passingEvery payment question charges a real amount, so a submission always records a payment.
  • Conditional logic resolves — passingEvery rule points at a question or page that exists in this template.
  • Legal text not required — passingThis template collects neither health nor regulated financial information.
  • Question labels unique — passingLogic and exports address questions by label, so duplicates are ambiguous.

What happens after submit: nothing is stored in this preview. On your own copy, every response triggers an instant email notification and lands in your response dashboard, ready to export or forward.

Happy with it? Take a copy into your workspace — every question, rule and setting comes with it.

Who this template is for

Will Instruction Form is built for law firms and in-house legal teams who need to intake a matter with the facts, parties and consent recorded.

  • Law firms and in-house legal teams working in legal & professional services.
  • Teams who need to intake a matter with the facts, parties and consent recorded without writing code or paying for a custom build.
  • Anyone replacing conflict checks delayed by missing intake detail with one structured record per enquiry.
  • Respondents are clients and claimants — the form asks them 29 questions across 3 screens.
  • Mobile-heavy audiences, thanks to the one-question-per-screen card layout.

Why this form is useful

It removes the cost of conflict checks delayed by missing intake detail and turns each submission into a record your team can act on immediately.

  • 14 questions are required, so submissions arrive complete instead of needing a follow-up email.
  • It collects a verified email address so replies and confirmations land.
  • It captures a phone number for urgent follow-up.
  • It pins the request to a specific date.
  • It captures a full postal address.
  • Conditional logic hides 4 questions until they are relevant — shorter forms convert better than long ones.
  • Splitting the form across 3 pages keeps each screen short and shows respondents how much is left.
  • Every response is stored, searchable and exportable, so nothing depends on one person's inbox.

How to use this template

From copy to live form is a few minutes of work, and every step is reversible.

  1. 1Press “Use this template” — a fresh copy of Will Instruction Form lands in your workspace, ready to edit.
  2. 2Rename or delete any question, and change what is required. Nothing here is fixed.
  3. 3Open Notifications and add the email addresses that should be alerted on each submission; add an auto-reply to the respondent if the form collects an email address.
  4. 4Publish it, then either share the link directly or paste the embed snippet into your site — the embedded form resizes to fit and loads no marketing or advertising trackers.
  5. 5Watch responses land in Submissions, where you can filter, label and export them to CSV or PDF.

Logic and conditions blueprint

Exactly how this form behaves as it is answered — 4 conditional rules ship with it.

  • Features conditional validation: if “Do you have children under 18?” is Yes, “Who should be their guardian?” becomes mandatory before the form can be sent.
  • Features conditional validation: if “Are you leaving anything to charity?” is Yes, “Which charities, and how much?” becomes mandatory before the form can be sent.
  • Features conditional validation: if “Is anyone being deliberately left out?” is Yes, “Who, and what reason would you like recorded?” becomes mandatory before the form can be sent.
  • Features advanced show logic: if “Do you already have a will?” is Yes, the form dynamically exposes “When was it made, and where is it now?”. Otherwise that question never appears.
  • All 4 rules are editable in the Logic tab, and the built-in checker warns about rules that contradict each other.

About this template

Instructions for a will need to be precise, because ambiguity in a draft becomes a dispute years later when nobody can ask what was meant. This three-page questionnaire separates the parts that get confused. The first page records the client, their family and anyone who might expect to benefit, including former partners and stepchildren, so a firm can see the picture rather than a list. The second page is the will itself: executors and substitutes, guardians for children under 18, specific gifts of money or possessions, gifts to charity, and who receives the residue and in what shares — with the question of what happens if a beneficiary dies first, which is the omission that causes the most trouble. The third page covers the surrounding wishes and checks: funeral preferences, digital accounts, an existing will and where it is kept, whether anyone is being deliberately left out, and any pressure the client feels. Formal requirements for making a valid will — witnesses, signing, the effect of marriage or divorce — are local, so confirm what applies where the client lives before drafting.

What this form asks

Every question is editable — rename it, make it optional, or delete it entirely.

Page 1 — You and your family

  • Full legal namerequired
  • Any other name you have used
  • Date of birthrequired
  • Home address
  • Contact numberrequired
  • Email addressrequired
  • Marital or partnership statusrequired
  • Children and stepchildren, with ages
  • Do you have children under 18?required
  • Anyone else who might expect to benefit?

Page 2 — Your instructions

  • Who should be your executors?required
  • Substitute executor, if the first cannot act
  • Who should be their guardian?
  • Specific gifts of money
  • Specific gifts of possessions or property
  • Are you leaving anything to charity?required
  • Which charities, and how much?
  • Who should receive everything that is left, and in what shares?required
  • What if a beneficiary dies before you?required
  • Who should receive it instead?

Page 3 — Wishes and checks

  • Funeral or burial wishes
  • Digital accounts or online records anyone will need
  • Do you already have a will?required
  • When was it made, and where is it now?
  • Is anyone being deliberately left out?required
  • Who, and what reason would you like recorded?
  • Has anyone encouraged you to make these choices?required
  • Anything else the firm should know?
  • How soon do you need the draft?required

29 questions in total.

Example of a completed will instruction form

This sample shows the instructions a firm collects before drafting a will.

Full legal name
Barbara Winslow
Marital or partnership status
Widowed
Children and stepchildren, with ages
Two adult children, ages 34 and 37
Who should be your executors?
My daughter, Claire Winslow, and my solicitor
Specific gifts of possessions or property
My mother's writing desk to Claire
Are you leaving anything to charity?
Yes
Which charities, and how much?
Riverside Animal Shelter, £1,000
Who should receive everything that is left, and in what shares?
Equally between my two children
How soon do you need the draft?
Within a month

Sample data — no real people, addresses or records are shown.

How the form changes as it's filled in

This template ships with 4 conditional rules, grouped into 4 behaviours driven by 4 questions. Everything below is already set up — edit or delete any rule once the template is in your workspace.

Driven by “Do you have children under 18?”

  • Makes answers required

    If “Do you have children under 18?” is Yes, “Who should be their guardian?” becomes required before the form can be submitted.

Driven by “Are you leaving anything to charity?”

  • Makes answers required

    If “Are you leaving anything to charity?” is Yes, “Which charities, and how much?” becomes required before the form can be submitted.

Driven by “Is anyone being deliberately left out?”

  • Makes answers required

    If “Is anyone being deliberately left out?” is Yes, “Who, and what reason would you like recorded?” becomes required before the form can be submitted.

Driven by “Do you already have a will?”

  • Reveals questions

    If “Do you already have a will?” is Yes, the form reveals “When was it made, and where is it now?”.

Set it up step by step

  1. 1

    Insist on full names and addresses

    A first name alone identifies nobody twenty years later, and the residue question is where that problem usually surfaces.

  2. 2

    Always capture the substitute

    Executors and beneficiaries who cannot act are the most common reason a will has to be interpreted rather than followed.

  3. 3

    Ask the deliberate-omission question plainly

    Recording a reason at instruction time is far more useful than reconstructing one after a claim is made.

  4. 4

    Keep the draft off the form

    This captures instructions; the will itself is drafted, signed and witnessed under the rules that apply locally.

Mistakes to avoid

  • Recording gifts without saying what happens if the beneficiary dies first.
  • Naming an executor with no address, so the firm cannot trace them when the time comes.
  • Describing witnessing rules in the form as if they were the same everywhere.

What it pairs with

Most teams don't run this form on its own. These are the forms and systems it sits next to.

What to do with the responses

Draft from the instructions, read the residue and substitution answers back to the client in plain words, and arrange signing under the local formalities.

Works in both layouts

Browse classic templatesBrowse card templates

Forms that overlap this one

These pages cover the same subject ground as the will instruction form, matched on the words people actually search for.

Privacy & compliance

This form collects identity or financial details. Enable encrypted answers on the sensitive fields, avoid emailing full values in notifications, and delete responses once the check is complete.

Frequently asked questions

Is a completed form a will?

No. It is the instruction record used to draft one. A will has to be prepared and then signed and witnessed under the rules of the client's own jurisdiction.

How is it different from the estate planning intake?

The Estate Planning Intake maps the whole position, including assets and tax questions. This form is narrower and captures drafting instructions.

Why ask whether anyone encouraged the choices?

It is a routine check a firm records at instruction stage. Asking everyone the same neutral question is better than asking selectively.

Can two people share one form?

Use one per person, even for mirror wills. Instructions differ more often than couples expect, and separate records are cleaner if one is ever challenged.

Is the Will Instruction Form template free to use?

Yes. You can preview and test Will Instruction Form on this page without an account, and take a copy into your own HelloForms workspace on the free plan. There is nothing to install and no card required to publish it.

What does the Will Instruction Form template ask for?

It asks 29 questions across 3 pages, 14 of which are required. Every question is listed in full further down this page, and each one can be renamed, reordered, made optional or deleted after you copy the template.

Can I edit the Will Instruction Form form after copying it?

Yes — the copy is entirely yours. Change wording, add or remove questions, switch between the classic and card layouts, restyle it to match your brand, and set who gets notified on each submission.

How does the conditional logic in this legal & professional services form work?

4 conditional rules ship with the template: Features conditional validation: if “Do you have children under 18?” is Yes, “Who should be their guardian?” becomes mandatory before the form can be sent. Features conditional validation: if “Are you leaving anything to charity?” is Yes, “Which charities, and how much?” becomes mandatory before the form can be sent. Features conditional validation: if “Is anyone being deliberately left out?” is Yes, “Who, and what reason would you like recorded?” becomes mandatory before the form can be sent. All rules are editable in the Logic tab.

Where do responses to the Will Instruction Form form go?

Submissions land in your workspace under Submissions, where you can search, filter, label and export them to CSV or PDF. You can also email a notification to your team on every submission and send the respondent an auto-reply.

Can I embed the Will Instruction Form form on my own website?

Yes. Publish the form and paste the embed snippet into any page or share the direct link. The embedded form resizes to fit its container and loads no advertising or marketing trackers inside the iframe.

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