What’s a letter of wishes? And a natural home for yours

Think of a letter of wishes as a note you leave with your will. The will does the legal bit. The letter is where you explain what you’d like, and why, in your own words, for the people dealing with things. It isn’t legally binding, so executors and trustees should take it into account but don’t have to follow it. You can write one wherever you live in the UK.

Where Twentyfive fits: a natural home for your wishes

A letter of wishes is guidance, in your own words, for the people who’ll be dealing with things. That’s very close to what your Twentyfive Card is: your wishes, your people and your story, in your voice, in one place. Here’s why the two fit together so well:

It’s easy to find. A letter in a drawer only helps if someone knows to open the drawer. Your Twentyfive Card is on your phone, with people you’ve chosen looking after it.
It’s more than words. The songs, the send-off you’d want, the people who matter, the charity, the bucket list: the things a letter of wishes tries to cover, all in one place.
You choose who sees what. Your gatekeepers only see what you choose to share.
It keeps up with you. Wishes change. Update your Twentyfive Card when life does, with no old copy to hunt down and bin.
It starts the conversation. You can share your wishes while you’re here to talk about them, not just leave them for later.

Twentyfive sits alongside a will and any letter you write, and it isn’t legal paperwork. But for the personal part of a letter of wishes, the part that’s all about you, it’s a natural home.

What goes in a letter of wishes

Anything you’d want the people dealing with things to know: the send-off in more detail (the music, how you’d like to be remembered, where your ashes might go, a charity donation instead of flowers), a few words for whoever’s looking after your children or pets, who should have the small things that mean something, and the reasons behind a decision in your will so nobody has to guess.

There’s no set format. Handwritten or typed, long or short, it’s your voice, and you can write it yourself with no solicitor needed. It’s usual to sign and date it, and to keep it with the will.

How it works

It’s private. Unlike a will, a letter of wishes isn’t a public document. It’s written for your executors and trustees, who may share it if they think it’s needed. If the two ever disagree, the will wins, so the letter is there to back it up, not to compete with it.

You can change your mind whenever you like, without touching your will. A letter nobody can find can’t help anyone, so it helps if your executors know where it is.

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