Washington's Will: A First Family Affair

George Washington’s self-discipline was unmatched, his horsemanship among the finest of his age, and his dancing abilities renowned. Yet, when planning for his family’s future, Washington faced many of the same challenges we do today, albeit on a grander scale. Washington’s will reveals how our first president balanced affection, obligation, and competing interests in dividing his property and caring for those he loved.

Washington’s primary beneficiary was, of course, his beloved wife, Martha, whose inheritance from her first husband had contributed substantially to the couple’s wealth. George Washington granted Martha the use, profit, and benefit of his estate for her lifetime, subject to specific gifts made elsewhere in the will. He also left Martha outright ownership of an improved lot in Alexandria, his household and kitchen furnishings, and the provisions on hand—including his liquors and groceries. Martha was permitted to enjoy much of his estate during her lifetime, while Washington determined who would inherit the underlying property thereafter.

Modern estate planning offers ways to achieve similar goals through trusts, including a qualified terminable interest property (QTIP) trust, which can provide income for a surviving spouse while preserving the remaining assets for beneficiaries designated by the trust’s creator. Washington therefore addressed the same question that we continue to face today, namely, how do you provide generously for your spouse, first and foremost, while also caring for other loved ones afterward?

Washington’s estate plan also demonstrates the choices faced by blended families. Perhaps due to the smallpox that he contracted in Barbados in 1751, George Washington never had children of his own. However, he helped raise Martha’s biological children and grandchildren. Washington’s affection and concern for them are evident in his estate plan, in which he expressly stated his intention to consider Martha’s grandchildren “in the same light as I do my own relations.”

Washington also divided a large portion of his estate into twenty-three equal shares. Eighteen went to children of his siblings Augustine, Betty, Samuel, John Augustine, and Charles, or to the heirs of those already deceased. Another share was divided among the three children of his late nephew George Augustine Washington. Martha’s three granddaughters—Elizabeth Parke Law, Martha Parke Peter, and Eleanor Parke Lewis—each received a full share, while Bushrod Washington, Lawrence Lewis, and George Washington Parke Custis shared the final twenty-third.

The beneficiaries themselves were hardly alike. Martha’s grandson George Washington Parke Custis, known as “Washy,” had frustrated Washington with his academic performance and been suspended from Princeton for misconduct. Nevertheless, Washington left him 1,200 acres at Four Mile Run and property in Washington City. His nephew Bushrod, by contrast, was already a justice of the United States Supreme Court. Bushrod received Washington’s Mount Vernon mansion and approximately 4,000 surrounding acres, along with George Washington’s papers and, ultimately, his library. Thus, Washington’s generosity accommodated both an accomplished nephew and a young step-grandson still finding his way, a reminder that affection and family responsibility need not depend on achievement.

Washington gifted cherished belongings to close family and friends through specific bequests. He left his brother Charles the gold-headed cane Benjamin Franklin had bequeathed to Washington, while five nephews received swords, with their order of selection expressly prescribed. To Lafayette, Washington left a pair of finely wrought steel pistols captured from the enemy during the Revolutionary War. Years earlier, Lafayette had sent Washington the key to the Bastille, a striking token of their friendship and shared revolutionary experience. Washington explained that his personal bequests were intended as “mementos of my esteem & regard.” Few families have a Bastille key to consider, but deciding who should receive a cherished heirloom remains an important and deeply personal part of estate planning.

He also considered when and how younger beneficiaries should receive their inheritances. He left approximately 2,077 acres to his late nephew George Augustine Washington’s two sons, directing that the property be divided when the younger brother reached twenty-one. If Martha’s lifetime interest ended before then, the income would be applied for their joint benefit. The eventual division was to account for “quantity, quality & other circumstances” and be overseen by three impartial men—one selected by each brother and a third chosen by those two. Washington thus recognized that a fair division required more than equal acreage. Today, parents can address similar concerns through a common or “pot” trust that supports children collectively before dividing into separate trusts, with terms tailored to their needs and readiness to manage an inheritance.

Caring for family meant forgiving debts. Washington canceled nearly $5,000 in advances for the education, clothing, board, and other expenses of two nephews, explaining that repayment might burden them or their father’s estate. He also forgave an unpaid land purchase obligation owed through his late brother Samuel’s family, amounting with interest to more than £1,000. These directions made his intentions explicit: assistance given during life would not become a financial burden after his death. Families today face similar decisions about whether money provided for education, a home, or other needs should be treated as a gift, a loan to be repaid, or an amount to be counted against a future inheritance. Addressing those questions expressly can help prevent financial uncertainty from becoming family conflict.

Washington’s estate was extraordinary, but the family considerations behind his decisions remain familiar. Providing for a spouse, balancing obligations to loved ones, and deciding how and when to pass on property are concerns that reach far beyond Mount Vernon. Washington’s will reminds us that estate planning is as much about understanding the people we love as it is about accounting for what we own.