The Letter That Explains Your Will
A guided letter-writing tool for Canadians who want their family to understand the decisions in their will.
Your will says who gets what. It never says why. That silence is where families start guessing, and guessing is where arguments begin. Why one child was named executor and not another. Why the shares aren’t equal. Why the cabin went where it did. In My Own Words™ walks you through those questions and prints one letter, in your words, to keep with your will.
- Time: work at your own pace
- Format: self-guided, nine short steps
- Device: desktop, tablet, or mobile
What this is
In My Own Words™ is a self-paced tool that helps you write a letter to accompany your will. It asks about the decisions people most often wonder about after a death: why you chose your executor, how you divided your estate, why someone received less or nothing at all, the story behind items your will names, why you chose a guardian, and what you’d like a trustee to keep in mind.
You write the letter. The tool decides what to ask, keeps your wording out of trouble, and lays the finished letter out properly. Nothing you type is stored online. You save a file on your own computer, open it again whenever your will changes, and print the letter when you’re ready.
What’s covered
- Why you chose your executor, and what you want the others to understand
- How you divided the residue of your estate, including anyone who receives less than the others
- Someone who isn’t in your will at all, with guidance on writing that section carefully
- The story behind the items your will names, so the meaning isn’t lost with you
- Why you chose the guardian for your children, and how you’d like the trustee to use their judgment
- A personal message, in whatever words you’d use
- A built-in check that catches wording that reads like a gift, which is your will’s job, not this letter’s
- Where the law looks at a letter like this, including British Columbia, Alberta and Quebec
How it works
You move through nine steps, skipping two if they don’t apply to your situation. Each step asks a few plain questions and shows you what it will print. Before you print, the tool checks your wording, tells you if anything is still missing, and shows you the finished letter. You save your file, print the letter, sign it, and keep it with your will.
What this is not
- not a will, and it does not change your will
- not legal, financial, or tax advice
- not a document preparation service
- not a memoir or a life story book
Who this is for
This tool suits anyone who already has a will, whether a lawyer drew it up or you built it yourself, and who would rather explain their decisions now than leave their family to work them out later. It’s particularly worth doing when the shares aren’t equal, when someone has been left out, when an executor was chosen over an older sibling, or when a particular item carries a story nobody else knows.
You don’t need to know any law, and you don’t need to be a writer. If you can answer a question about your own family, you can write this letter.
Access and purchase details
You will receive an email with:
- the link that opens your tool
- simple instructions to begin
Important: Because this is a digital experience delivered immediately and cannot be returned, all purchases are final.
Disclaimer: This content is for general information only and is not legal, financial, medical, or tax advice.