How to Create a Letter of Last Instruction

November 13th, 2026

As estate planning attorneys, we encourage people to have tough conversations with their family. However, we also understand that not everyone is willing or capable of talking about their end-of-life plans. That’s where a letter of last instruction can come in handy. While it’s not legally binding, it can be helpful for letting loved ones know what your wishes are after death.

Key Takeaways

  • A letter of last instruction lets you express your wishes outside of your will.
  • It’s not legally enforceable and you can handwrite it if you wish.
  • To write your letter, gather documents, organize them, and then write your wishes.
  • You should periodically review and revise your letter of instruction.
  • Don’t include anything that should be addressed in a legal document.

What Should You Include in a Letter of Last Instruction?

You have a lot of freedom when writing your letter of instruction. What you include will be personal to you. Think of it as a practical guide for what should happen after your death. You’ll want to include instructions for family members, trustees, or your executor. If you have a will, it can include the extra information and instructions that would make a will cumbersome and aren't appropriate for inclusion in the legal document. However, a letter of instruction isn’t a legal replacement for a will. So you’ll want to make sure you have a will with instructions that you want to ensure are enforced.

You should include the following in a letter of last instruction:

Important Contacts

One of the most challenging tasks for a family is contacting everyone. There are the people that need to be given a death notice. Then there are the professionals you have employed to assist with your estate planning, finances, or insurance, including:

  • Estate planning attorney
  • Financial advisor
  • Accountant or tax professional
  • Insurance agent
  • Employer or former employer
  • Financial institutions
  • Insurance companies
  • Business partners
  • Close family members or friends
  • Religious leader, if applicable
  • Funeral home or cemetery

Having a ready-made resource that family members can refer to makes coordinating and planning significantly easier during an already emotionally charged time.

Location of Important Documents

Having an attorney prepare your estate plan is only the first step. You also need to let your family know where to find those documents. Even if that means telling them which attorney to contact, your family will need to know where to find the titles to the property you own. Be sure to let your family know where the following documents are located in your letter of last instruction:

  • Original will
  • Trust documents
  • Powers of attorney
  • Health care documents
  • Life insurance policies
  • Property deeds
  • Vehicle titles
  • Business documents
  • Tax returns
  • Financial statements
  • Marriage, divorce, or birth records
  • Military records, if applicable
  • Funeral or burial contracts

Leaving a roadmap to find the important legal documents takes some of the stress out of handling your estate. It can also streamline the process, ultimately helping beneficiaries receive their inheritance faster.

Financial Accounts and Debts

You may know everything about your current financial situation, but that doesn’t mean someone else can easily step in and take over. Having all of your accounts together will help family members pay off and close accounts, including the following:

  • Bank accounts
  • Investment and retirement accounts
  • Life insurance
  • Real estate
  • Mortgages
  • Credit cards
  • Personal loans
  • Other significant debts
  • Recurring bills
  • Automatic payments
  • Safety deposit boxes

This information will also become essential when your estate goes through probate. These are the assets and debts that will need to be addressed before your beneficiaries can inherit.

Digital Assets and Online Accounts

Your digital life may be just as complicated as your financial life. Have you ever thought about what happens to your automatic recurring payments after you die? If you are like many people, you could have several subscription or streaming services. There’s no need for these payments to continue for months until someone discovers them.

In your letter of instruction, be sure to address:

  • Bank accounts
  • Online banking
  • Investment platforms
  • Social media
  • Cloud storage
  • Digital photographs
  • Cryptocurrency
  • Websites and domain names
  • Online businesses
  • Digital subscriptions

Explain where you keep your usernames and passwords, perhaps in a notebook written down or maybe in your Chrome or Apple account. You may also want to include any specific instructions for what you want done with your digital files, videos, and photographs.

Funeral, Burial, or Cremation Wishes

It can be difficult to express to your loved ones what you want done for your funeral. Perhaps you want a specific song played, or only certain images of yourself displayed. Maybe you don’t want a funeral at all and instead would prefer a livelier celebration of life. This is your opportunity to express how you want to be remembered.

In your letter of last instruction, you can specify your wishes regarding:

Putting everything in writing gives everyone something to refer to when the time comes. It can also take some of the guesswork out of difficult planning decisions. It can also help avoid disputes between family members about what they think you would have wanted.

Personal Property and Practical Instructions

People often think about the big ticket inheritance items. However, it’s your friends and family who will also have to deal with the daily practical tasks. Someone will need to water your plants, feed your pets, and take out the garbage. These are all tasks you probably perform without a second thought. Someone else may not know they need to be done, let alone how.

Your letter can be used to provide practical instructions for:

  • Sentimental items
  • Collections
  • Directions for pet care
  • Home security system codes
  • Storage unit location and code
  • Family photographs

Sentimental items may not be appropriate to include in your will because they don't have a monetary value but are priceless to you. So include in your letter what you would like done with them or who you want them to go to.

How to Create and Maintain Your Letter of Last Instruction

You don’t need a lawyer to write a letter of instruction because it’s not a legal document. However, having a lawyer assist can be beneficial. A lawyer can provide valuable guidance on what should and should not be included. They can also help you fit your completed letter of last instruction into a larger estate plan.

Step 1: Gather your information

Before you start writing anything, gather all of the information that you will need. This will make it easier to write your letter without stopping and starting to find important information. Having everything you need also ensures you don’t forget anything.

Step 2: Organize it logically

Take everything you have gathered and organize it into a logical order. Your letter should flow like a resource. Consider adding a table of contents at the beginning. Then, you could have a contact sheet with names, addresses, and phone numbers. Follow this with your attorney-prepared estate planning documents. Include your accounts list.

Document your assets and debts. Finish out your letter with your more personal wishes. This could include what you would like for your funeral or memorial ceremonies. You could address how you want your household matters and pets taken care of. If there are any other personal or specific instructions, this is a good place to include them.

Step 3: Keep sensitive information secure

While you want your loved ones to have an easier time handling your household and accounts, you also don’t want to compromise your personal information. So if you choose to include account usernames and passwords, be sure to keep your letter in a secure place. Don’t leave your letter sitting around in an unsecured place. Similarly, don’t leave the file unsecured on a shared computer.

Step 4: Tell the right people where it is

Your letter won’t do any good if no one knows you’ve written it or where to find it. You don’t have to talk about what’s in it. Simply share with trusted family or friends that you have written the letter and where you keep it. That way, when you pass away, they can locate the letter.

Step 5: Update it regularly

Like other estate planning documents, your letter of instruction is not a write it once and forget it kind of task. When your life circumstances change, you need to review your letter. Even if nothing has changed, it’s good to periodically read it. That way, your letter accurately reflects your current wishes.

What Should You Not Put in a Letter of Last Instruction?

While there are many items you can include in your letter of last instruction, there are several things that you shouldn’t include. Because a letter of instruction isn’t a replacement for legal documents, you should leave out items that are better served in a formalized legal document. For example, a will is more appropriate for designating beneficiaries and inheritance instructions.

A trust is more appropriate for detailing how you want certain property and financial assets managed for a beneficiary. If you want to give someone legal authority to act on your behalf while incapacitated, you need a power of attorney. A medical directive is the best document for outlining your treatment wishes.

Speak With an Ohio Estate Planning Attorney

While a letter of last instruction isn’t legally binding, it’s still an incredibly useful document to include in your estate plan. Think of it as your voice of guidance for your family. It can serve as an informational resource and practical guide. At Gudorf Law Group, LLC, we can assist with the writing of your letter of instruction and estate planning documents. Our compassionate and experienced team provides a supportive environment to help people prepare their estate plan. Schedule a consultation today to discuss your wishes.