Here are 7 things you should leave out of your will in the US if you really care about your loved ones

1. Specific dollar amounts

It's natural to want to leave your loved ones as much money as possible. But rather than commit to specific dollar amounts, you may want to work with percentages instead.

The reason? It's hard to predict how much your estate will amount to upon your death. You might leave your eldest child $500,000 thinking there will still be plenty of money left over for your remaining heirs. But if your estate only ends up being worth $550,000, you're limiting the amount of money your remaining beneficiaries get.

A better approach would be to distribute your assets in portions. You may, for example, decide to leave your eldest child a larger percentage of your estate because they're the person who's cared for you in a hands-on manner through the years. But that way, you're also not leaving your remaining heirs in the lurch if the value of your estate ends up being smaller than expected.

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2. Account passwords

You may be inclined to use your will as a means of giving your heirs access to your various accounts, and so you might think it's smart to include your bank and brokerage account passwords in that document. But that's a mistake.

Once you pass away, your will may go through probate, which is the process of proving its validity, before it’s executed. And at that point, it becomes a matter of public record. You don't want that information getting into the wrong people's hands, so a better bet is to share a list of passwords with your loved ones in a separate, private document.

3. Funeral instructions

You'd think your will would be the perfect place to describe your ideal funeral. But there's a problem with this approach.

Your loved ones may not receive a copy of your will until after your funeral. So a better bet is to map out your wishes separately, whether in a document or verbally.

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4. Firearms

If you own a collection of firearms, you may be inclined to use your will to pass them along. But you should know that firearm ownership may be subject to state and federal laws.

For this reason, you may want to work with an attorney to set up a gun trust for the transfer of such assets. This could make that transfer smoother and avoid a situation where regulations are unintentionally violated.

5. Conditional inheritances

You may be inclined to include conditional inheritances in your will. For example, if you have one child who's married, you may want to protect them and your assets in the event of a divorce. So, you might think it's wise to add a conditional inheritance to your will stating that your son- or daughter-in-law will only receive their share if they remain married to your child.

This sort of language could lead to a world of complication if your child and their spouse do end up divorcing. And if the divorced party contests your will, it could delay your child from inheriting their share of your estate.

If you're worried about your assets getting into the wrong hands, you may want to set up a revocable living trust. That way, you maintain control over your assets as long as you're alive. And you can make changes to that trust at any time so that if your child divorces right before you pass away, you can simply remove their ex-spouse as a trust beneficiary.

6. Accounts that don't need to go through probate

The problem with probate is that it can be a lengthy process, thereby delaying the transfer of your assets. But you should know that certain assets don't have to be included in your will — and therefore subject to probate — because you're allowed to designate a beneficiary.

Say you have $50,000 in a savings account. Most banks let you name a beneficiary on your account. As long as you have that information, you don't necessarily need to include your bank account in your will. That way, if your will is subjected to a lengthy probate process, that $50,000 might transfer over to your beneficiaries much sooner.

7. Pets as beneficiaries

You may have read stories of wealthy people leaving large amounts of money to their pets. But while you can use your will to arrange for your pet's care, it’s not a good idea to list your pet as a beneficiary.

The reason is that pets are generally considered property and, therefore, can't own assets themselves. So, instead of leaving $10,000 to your dog, use your will to determine who will care for your dog, and leave that person $10,000 with instructions on how to use the money.

Of course, the one pitfall here is that you're trusting your dog's new owner to use your funds the way you've asked them to be used. For added protection, consider working with an attorney to set up a pet trust. This allows you to set up a legally binding arrangement where the funds in that trust must be used for your pet's care.