The halachic order of inheritance dictates how a Jew is meant to allocate his estate and assets before death. The Gemara says one should not disinherit a legal Jewish heir although he may be unworthy. This means, says the Shulchan Aruch, that if a rebellious son is the rightful inheritor he may not be passed over. Money is a deposit from Hashem. We are meant to take care of it and then pass it on according to the Torah. As long as a significant sum is divided up as halacha dictates, there is no problem with a testator ceding the rest of his estate to charity or to his wife and daughters. This would not be in violation of the prohibition of passing over legal heirs.

Drawing up a halachic will halts the automatic process of one's property immediately reverting over to one's heirs. There are two types of kosher wills. The first is called shtar chetzi zachar. The Rema mentions a custom that when someone would marry off a daughter he would draw up a stipulation that part of the dowry would be a binding contract. When the bride's father would die, his daughter would receive half of what her brothers would get. In the chetzi zachar contract, the testator states that he owes a designated party a large sum of money. However this is on condition that his heirs refuse to give that party a specific share of the estate which is less than the value of the debt. If they give it, the debt is erased. If not, they must pay the deceased's debt. This type of will doesn't interfere with the halachic process of inheritance where the sons automatically inherit their father's assets. One must be careful to assess the debt correctly so that the value of the estate doesn't override the debt.

The second type of will is called a shtar hischayvut where the parent gives away his assets while he is still alive. He can do this by separating the assets itself and the earnings of those assets. A father might say he is giving away the capital of his orchard to his wife or daughter, while the fruits, the earnings of the capital, remain with him. The problem with this type of will is what to do if the testator decides to sell the capital during his lifetime when it is really no longer his. Therefore there needs to be a condition included that one can go back on the shtar hischayvut. With this type of will, ownership has to be transferred through an act of acquisition ( kinyan). One way to do this is through a kinyan ordita-ceding your property over to someone else in the presence of witnesses. If you acquire new property after making a will, do you have to renew the will again? In order for the will to be valid, the testator must designate specific property to the relevant person.

According to secular Israel law, a shtar chetzi zachar which involves a debt is invalid. Therefore some people will use the shtar hischayvut where the capital is ceded over to the inheritor or a combination of both types of wills. Another way to transfer ownership is for the person to give over his assets as a gift before he dies. A will drafted according to secular law will not always be valid according to Jewish law although the testator knows it will be honored because the courts have the power to enforce it. The overriding factor in factors of ownership is gemirat daat-where one clearly sees the owner's intention in passing ownership over to his heirs. Drawing up a secular will is considered gemirat daat so it will carry halachic backing according to some Poskim. There's an additional mitzvah to honor the wishes of the deceased. However the best practice is to draw up two wills, a secular will and a halachic will, so that the testator is assured that his assets will be allocated to the rightful recipients.