Patty Please read the book on disk. Beneficiaries of life insurance, IRA's, 401's, bank accounts, etc., can not be changed by a Will. Wills should be as simple as possible and avoid distribution of specific property since a Will must be probated and is susceptible to estate/inheritance tax ($1.5 million exemption for 2005 including money, houses, cars, diamonds, etc.) and legal fees to probate. Personal items in a Will also get tied up in probate if listed in the Will. It doesn't matter whether your executor is an inheritor and doing anything unusual in your Will can be a problem. Any real property (including money, houses, cars, etc.) is not susceptible to probate if held in joint tenancy (or joint bank accounts). If your executor is not a joint tenant on your bank account, he/she will have to get a court order to open the account to pay bills. Annuities, 401's, IRA's, bank accounts, etc., are susceptible to estate tax to the beneficiary and get tied up in probate. Income tax on the taxable portion of 401's is also due but can be deferred by the beneficiary if rolled into an IRA. If the beneficiary pre-deceases you, the whole amount goes into your estate, so keep your beneficiaries current - especially an ex-spouse, since they would get your children's property (money). Normally you only use a living trust to pass property to your children tax free if your estate is over the tax exempt limit. By the way, you have asked a complicated question that brings up a whole myriad of case specific questions and it would be very wise to read the items affecting your specific case in the book (on disk) and possibly contact a lawyer specializing in wills and inheritance tax issues. There are exceptions to all of the answers above. Good Luck -