There’s a lot more to a will than deciding who gets what

A will allows you to distribute your worldly goods, select a guardian for minor children and name an executor to carry out your wishes.

But you should be aware of what a will can’t or shouldn’t do.

What a will can’t do

A will can’t avoid probate, the legal process that typically follows death. In probate, your will becomes a public record and the court supervises the distribution of your estate.

In many states, probate isn’t particularly expensive or lengthy. In other states — such as California and Florida — probate can be costly and time-consuming, which is why many residents wish to avoid it.

A common way to bypass probate is to create a revocable living trust and then transfer ownership of your real estate, accounts and other property into the trust. You retain control, but upon your death, the person you name as your successor trustee can distribute your property without a court’s involvement, says Matt Palmer, associate product counsel at online legal site Legalzoom.

Another time to use a trust is when you want to leave money to someone with special needs who is receiving government benefits.

Even a relatively small bequest could disqualify them from essential benefits such as Supplemental Security Income and health insurance coverage through Medicaid.

Special needs trusts must be carefully drafted to be effective, so consider consulting an experienced attorney.

You can avoid probate using other means. Jointly held property passes directly to the other owner, bypassing probate.

Accounts with beneficiaries, such as life insurance and retirement funds, can also avoid probate. You may be able to use “transfer on death” or “payable on death” documents to designate beneficiaries for other financial accounts.

Your will can’t override a beneficiary designation or change who inherits jointly held property, Palmer says.

You also can’t leave property to pets with a will or any other estate document, since pets are considered property, Palmer says.

What a will shouldn’t do

You may see your will as a way to finally force people to do what you want.

But putting conditions in a will is often a bad idea, says Betsy Hannibal, senior legal editor at Nolo, a self-help legal site.

Some conditions — such as requiring someone to marry, divorce, or change religions — aren’t legally enforceable because they’re considered contrary to public policy, Hannibal says.

Other conditions are simply unwieldy. Someone must oversee the bequest and decide when the conditions are met, which might be difficult or take a long time, she says.

If you want to impose conditions, consider paying for an attorney to set up a trust rather than using a will. Expect to spend $2,000 or more, Hannibal says. You’ll need to appoint a trustee, who may need to be paid from the trust for their services. Also, when the money is in the trust, it can be subject to high trust tax rates. Only you can decide if putting strings on an inheritance is worth the extra cost.

What you may not want to do with a will

Technically, you can disinherit your wife or husband in your will. In reality, disinheriting a spouse can be extremely hard to do.

“Every state has a mechanism that protects a spouse from being completely disinherited,” Hannibal says.

In community property states, a spouse generally has a legal right to half of the property acquired during a marriage, regardless of how the property is titled.

In the other, common law states, a spouse usually has a right to claim one third to one half of the estate, regardless of what a will says.