**Joint will** (noun) — A single testamentary document executed by two people (typically spouses or partners) as their respective wills. A joint will disposes of each person's property and is usually mutual—meaning each person leaves their property to the other, and then to the same ultimate beneficiaries. Joint wills are rare in modern estate planning and generally discouraged because they create legal and practical complications.
A joint will is one document that serves as the will for two people—most commonly a married couple.
Instead of each person having their own separate will, they make one will together that covers both of their estates. Typically, the joint will provides that when the first person dies, everything goes to the survivor. Then when the survivor dies, everything goes to their children or other named beneficiaries.
It sounds simple and economical—one document instead of two. But joint wills create serious problems that usually outweigh any perceived advantages.
The main issue is inflexibility. In most jurisdictions, a joint will becomes binding on the survivor after the first person dies. The survivor can't change it, even if their circumstances change dramatically. They're locked into whatever was agreed when both people were alive.
This means if the survivor remarries, has new financial needs, or simply wants to change their mind about who should inherit, they can't. The joint will controls what happens, and departing from it could be a breach of contract or trust.
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Joint wills are strongly discouraged by estate planning lawyers, and for good reason.
The problems start immediately after the first death. In many places, the surviving spouse is bound by the terms of the joint will and cannot make a new will that contradicts it. This is because the joint will is treated as a contract between the two spouses—when one dies having relied on the agreement, the survivor must honor it.
Imagine this scenario: A couple makes a joint will leaving everything to each other, then to their two children equally. The husband dies. Years later, the wife needs expensive care. One child helps extensively; the other doesn't visit. The wife wants to recognize the helpful child with a larger share. But she can't—the joint will locks her in.
Or consider this: The surviving spouse remarries. They want to provide for their new partner. But the joint will might prevent this, or create a conflict between what the new partner needs and what the original will required.
Joint wills also create confusion during probate. After the first death, is the will revoked as to the deceased and binding as to the survivor? Can the survivor spend capital or only income? The answers vary by jurisdiction and depend on the specific wording, but the questions themselves create expense and uncertainty.
The modern alternative is mirror wills—separate but coordinated wills for each spouse. Mirror wills typically have identical provisions (everything to the spouse, then to the children), but they remain separate documents. Each spouse can revoke or change their own will independently. When one spouse dies, the survivor retains full freedom to make a new will if circumstances change.
If you want to ensure property ultimately goes to specific beneficiaries regardless of what the survivor does, a trust is a better tool than a joint will. A testamentary trust can provide income to the surviving spouse while protecting the capital for your children.
**Related terms:** [Mutual wills](/dictionary/mutual-will), [Mirror wills](/dictionary/mirror-will), [Will](/dictionary/will), [Testamentary trust](/dictionary/testamentary-trust)
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