will substitute
will substitute. A document or instrument that allows a person, upon death, to dispose of an estate in the same or similar manner as a will but without the formalities and expense of a probate proceeding. • The most common will substitutes are trusts, life-insurance plans, and retirement-benefits contracts. The creation of will substitutes has been one of the most important developments in the area of decedents’ estates in the past 50 years. Cf. nonprobate asset under ASSET. [Cases: Wills 86.]
