The VA does not employ attorneys to sit down and draft your will, but it does offer free ways to get one done. If you’re covered by a VA life insurance program, you can use the VA’s free online will-preparation tool and finish a basic will in an afternoon. If you’d rather work with an attorney, the VA hosts free legal clinics at medical centers around the country through partnerships with legal aid groups, law schools, and pro bono attorneys. And if you’re on active duty, drawing retired pay, or a dependent of someone who is, a military legal assistance (JAG) office will prepare a will for you at no charge. So yes, the VA helps veterans with wills for free, though the help comes through partners and programs rather than from VA lawyers directly.
The VA’s Free Online Will Tool
The most direct free option is the Beneficiary Financial Counseling Service, which includes an online will-preparation tool. It’s available to beneficiaries of Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance (SGLI), Veterans’ Group Life Insurance (VGLI), Traumatic Injury Protection (TSGLI), or Family SGLI.1Veterans Benefits Administration. Beneficiary Financial Counseling Service and Online Will Preparation
The tool asks you a series of questions about your assets, beneficiaries, and wishes, then produces a will that’s valid in all 50 states. You print it and sign it in front of witnesses. To use it, go to financialpointplus.com, register with the Organization Web ID “BFCSVA,” and choose the EstateGuidance option. You’ll need your eight-digit SGLI, TSGLI, FSGLI, or VGLI claim number. If you don’t have it, call the Office of Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance at 800-419-1473.1Veterans Benefits Administration. Beneficiary Financial Counseling Service and Online Will Preparation
Many veterans don’t know this tool exists. If you already have qualifying VA life insurance, it’s probably the fastest free path to a basic will available to you.
Free Legal Clinics at VA Medical Centers
The VA partners with legal aid organizations, law school clinics, and pro bono attorneys to run free legal clinics inside VA medical centers and community-based outpatient clinics nationwide.2VA News. 12 Places That Offer Free Wills or Trusts for Veterans Estate planning documents including wills, powers of attorney, and advance directives are among the services they handle. The attorneys are not VA employees. They’re outside professionals volunteering their time or working through legal aid partnerships.
To find a clinic, the VA’s Office of General Counsel maintains a directory of pro bono legal clinics operating at VA facilities.3Veterans Affairs. Legal Help for Veterans – Office of General Counsel You can also ask the social work service department at your local VA Medical Center; social workers frequently coordinate referrals to legal resources.2VA News. 12 Places That Offer Free Wills or Trusts for Veterans
Availability varies. Some clinics run weekly, others monthly, and some cover estate planning only during certain sessions. Call ahead so you don’t waste a trip.
Wills From a Military Legal Assistance (JAG) Office
If you have a current military connection, you have a stronger option than the VA route: military legal assistance offices will draft your will at no cost, and wills are one of their highest-volume services. Under 10 USC 1044, eligibility covers:
- Active-duty service members in any branch
- Retirees and former members receiving retired or retainer pay
- Reservists released from active duty under a mobilization order exceeding 30 days, for a period at least twice the length of the activation
- Dependents of anyone in the categories above
- Survivors of deceased members who were dependents at the time of death
These offices routinely prepare wills with or without testamentary trusts, powers of attorney, and advance directives.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 10 USC 1044 – Legal Assistance If you qualify, this is usually the simplest path.
Pro Bono Programs Outside the VA
Several national organizations offer free legal help to veterans outside the VA system. The Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program, founded by the American Legion, Disabled American Veterans, the National Veterans Legal Services Program, and Paralyzed Veterans of America, provides free legal services including general legal advice clinics and referrals.5The Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program. About Us
Many state and local bar associations also run veterans’ legal clinics, particularly around Veterans Day, where volunteer attorneys prepare basic wills and other estate documents in a single session. These are worth trying if the VA clinic near you doesn’t cover estate planning or has a long waitlist.
Who Qualifies and What to Bring
Eligibility depends on the program. The online will tool requires you to be a beneficiary of SGLI, VGLI, TSGLI, or FSGLI.1Veterans Benefits Administration. Beneficiary Financial Counseling Service and Online Will Preparation VA medical center legal clinics generally verify veteran status, typically through your DD-214 discharge paperwork.6National Archives. About Military Service Records and Official Military Personnel Files (OMPFs, DD Form 214)
Many legal aid partners at those clinics also screen for financial need. The Legal Services Corporation, which funds many of them, sets income ceilings at 125% of the federal poverty guidelines, with exceptions allowing eligibility up to 200% in certain situations.7eCFR. 45 CFR Part 1611 – Financial Eligibility Veterans with service-connected disabilities often find additional pro bono options, and some programs waive income limits for disabled veterans entirely.
If you’re applying for VA benefits and don’t have your DD-214, the VA will request it on your behalf when they receive your benefits application, so you don’t need to obtain it separately through the National Archives for that purpose.8Veterans Affairs. Request Your Military Service Records (Including DD214) Having a copy on hand still speeds up intake at legal clinics.
Whichever route you use, come prepared with your full legal name and personal identification, an inventory of your assets and debts, the names and contact details of your beneficiaries, the name of the person you want as executor (plus an alternate), and, if you have minor children, the guardian you want to name. Bring your DD-214 if you have it.
Documents These Programs Can Prepare
A last will and testament is the headline document, but the same programs can usually help with the rest of a basic estate plan:
- A last will and testament that directs how your assets are distributed after death, names guardians for minor children, and appoints an executor.
- A power of attorney for finances that designates someone to handle your financial and legal decisions if you can’t.
- An advance directive (living will) recording your wishes about medical treatment and end-of-life care. The VA has its own form, VA Form 10-0137, which covers both a durable power of attorney for health care and a living will.9Veterans Affairs. About VA Form 10-0137
Some programs also help with trusts, which offer more control over when and how beneficiaries receive assets and can help avoid probate. The VA additionally runs an Advance Care Planning via Group Visits program that facilitates group discussions with veterans, families, and caregivers about end-of-life planning.2VA News. 12 Places That Offer Free Wills or Trusts for Veterans
One Thing a Free Will Won’t Fix: Your Beneficiary Designations
Before you leave any will appointment, check your beneficiary forms. Your SGLI or VGLI life insurance policy pays out based on your beneficiary designation, not your will. If you named an ex-spouse as your SGLI beneficiary years ago and never updated the form, that person collects the money even if your will leaves everything to your current spouse or children. State divorce decrees and separation agreements cannot change a federal life insurance beneficiary designation.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 38 USC 1970 – Beneficiaries; Payment of Insurance
The same principle applies to retirement accounts, TSP balances, and any other account with a named beneficiary. Those assets transfer directly to whoever is on the designation form, bypassing probate and your will entirely. To update your SGLI or VGLI beneficiary, use VA Form 29-336, Designation of Beneficiary — Government Life Insurance.11Veterans Affairs. About VA Form 29-336
If you don’t designate a beneficiary at all, SGLI and VGLI proceeds are paid in a fixed order set by federal law: surviving spouse first, then children, then parents, then your estate’s executor, then other next of kin.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 38 USC 1970 – Beneficiaries; Payment of Insurance That default may or may not match your wishes, so a deliberate designation is better than leaving it to the statutory sequence. Contradictions between a will and a beneficiary form are one of the most common sources of family conflict after a veteran’s death.
What Happens If You Skip It
If you die without a will, your state’s intestacy laws decide who gets your assets. Those laws follow a rigid formula that prioritizes your spouse and children, then parents, then siblings, then more distant relatives. The formula doesn’t care about your preferences, and it doesn’t recognize unmarried partners at all. A long-term partner you lived with for decades could inherit nothing.
For veterans with minor children, the consequences are more serious. Without a will naming a guardian, a judge who doesn’t know your family decides who raises your children. Naming a guardian in a will doesn’t guarantee the court will follow your preference, but it carries significant weight and is far better than leaving the decision entirely to a stranger.
The probate process for an intestate estate also tends to be slower and more expensive, because the court must appoint an administrator and resolve any disputes about distribution without the guidance a will provides. Given that free options exist through the VA, JAG offices, and pro bono partners, there’s little reason to leave your family in that position.