Your last will and testament is a formal document that specifies your wishes when you pass away. If you do not have a will, state law will determine how your belongings, children and pets are placed among your living family.

Giving Docs advises that a completed will is not legally binding until it has been signed and executed in accordance with the laws of your state of residence. Giving Docs will give you detailed instructions on how to do so in order to ensure that your will carries out your wishes. Giving Docs securely keeps your information in your profile so that you can quickly and easily update your will whenever you need to. The standard will document you create on the GivingDocs website incorporates typical estate planning needs. If you have a complicated estate with multiple properties and complex assets, or would like to discuss alternative planned giving vehicles, we recommend consulting an attorney and/or financial advisor.

This offer is free to you, compliments of Smithsonian Institution.

No. While Smithsonian Institution covers the cost of providing this service to our supporters, Giving Docs is an independent third-party platform, completely separate from Smithsonian Institution. Its services are provided without review from Smithsonian Institution, and Smithsonian Institution is not liable for its use. Giving Docs is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. Your use of the platform is subject to Giving Docs' Terms of Service, which we encourage you to review.

Giving Docs states a will from Giving Docs is valid in all 50 states and the District of Columbia if it has been signed and executed in accordance with the laws of your state of residence. If you live outside of the U.S., you may use the Giving Docs process to outline your wishes in preparation for speaking with an attorney.

Yes. Giving Docs makes it easy to leave gifts to all of your favorite organizations. Giving Docs will prompt you to leave a percentage of your estate to your favorite charity, but you are not required to leave a gift in order to create a will through Giving Docs.

Yes, you can use Giving Docs to create a new will. Be sure to have it executed per the laws in your state.

Yes, Giving Docs offers the opportunity to leave a gift without altering your existing Will through a codicil. You can access the codicil platform directly.

Create your financial power of attorney directly here.

Smithsonian Institution does not share your personal information with Giving Docs. Giving Docs only receives the information that you provide to them, when you activate your Giving Docs account. Giving Docs' Terms of Service prohibits the sale or rental of user names or other personal information.

When creating your account with Giving Docs, you will be asked if you would like to share your contact information with any charities for which you leave a gift. If you choose to share your contact information, the charity will receive your contact information and note about your planned gift, as agreed upon. No other data will be shared with the charity. If you do not wish to share any information at all, you can choose to remain anonymous. If you choose to remain anonymous, the charity will not receive any identifying information.

You are not required to leave a gift to Smithsonian Institution or any other organization in order to create a will. And any bequest provision you include is revocable. It can be changed at any time for any reason. Simply log back into your account to update your will, and follow the instructions for signatures and notarizations.

So many Smithsonian Institution supporters choose to provide a future gift that we are able to offer Giving Docs for free to our dedicated supporters.