Happy 250th and What George Washington's Will Has to Teach Us About Character

As we celebrate America's 250th birthday this Fourth of July, it's natural to reflect on the documents that shaped our nation. The Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights have been studied for generations. Yet there is another document that offers a surprisingly personal glimpse into the character of one of our nation's founders: George Washington's Last Will and Testament. I ran across a mention of it and had to learn more. 

As an attorney, I spend a good deal of time helping people decide who will receive their home, retirement accounts, family heirlooms, and treasured possessions. Those decisions matter. But after years of reading wills and trusts, I've come to believe that the most interesting thing about an estate plan is rarely what it gives away.

It's what it reveals about the person who wrote it.

Washington's will is a remarkable example.

Most people know George Washington as the Revolutionary War general and the nation's first president. Fewer people know that his final estate plan reflected many of the values that defined his life.

Of course, he provided generously for his wife, Martha, while carefully planning for the eventual distribution of his estate. He also forgave debts owed by family members. He made generous gifts to relatives and friends. He supported charitable causes, including education. Most notably, he directed that the enslaved people he legally owned be freed following Martha's death. He also instructed that elderly and disabled individuals be cared for and that younger people receive education or vocational training before becoming fully independent.

Here’s the transcript of his will. 

Washington's life, like the nation he helped create, was imperfect and complicated. He owned enslaved people for much of his adult life, a reality that cannot be ignored or excused. Yet his will reflects a man wrestling with difficult moral questions and attempting, however imperfectly, to leave the world closer to the principles he increasingly believed were right. Whether one views those provisions as too little or too late, they reveal something important about how he wanted to be remembered.

His estate plan became, in many ways, his final statement of values.Those values extended well beyond his will.

When the new nation debated what to call its chief executive, some favored titles that sounded almost royal. Washington resisted. The simple title "Mr. President" reflected his belief that America had rejected monarchy in favor of public service.

After serving two terms, he did something almost unimaginable at the time. He voluntarily stepped away from power and returned home to Mount Vernon. Around the world, leaders often clung to office for life. Washington established a different precedent. The presidency belonged to the country, not to the man who occupied it. That decision may have been one of the greatest gifts he ever gave the republic. (Presidents Biden and Trump could both learn a lot from this example.)

His will tells the same story. It is a document focused not on preserving status, but on caring for people. It reflects concern for family, responsibility toward others, education, charity, and stewardship. It reminds us that wealth is not simply accumulated. It is ultimately directed toward the things we believe matter most.

I often tell clients that an estate plan does much more than transfer assets. It transfers priorities. Sometimes those priorities are obvious. A charitable gift may support a favorite cause for generations. A trust may provide lifelong care for a child with special needs. A family cabin may be preserved because generations have gathered there every summer.

Other times the message is more subtle.

The choice of trustee says something about who has earned your confidence. The decision to treat children equally (or differently) reflects your understanding of fairness. A letter left to grandchildren may become more valuable than anything they inherit financially. Even the conversations families have while creating an estate plan often become part of the legacy they leave behind.

In my practice, clients occasionally tell me they don't have a large enough estate to justify careful planning. I always disagree.

An estate plan has never been merely about money. It's about deciding what your life stands for.

Long after bank accounts have been distributed and real estate has changed hands, your decisions continue to speak. They tell your children what you valued. They reveal the relationships that mattered most. They show future generations how you hoped your family would care for one another.

Few of us will leave behind a document that historians study 250 years from now. But every one of us will leave behind a story.

Happy Fourth of July, and happy 250th birthday to the United States.