Governing instrument
Whichever document actually controls an asset — a will, a trust, a beneficiary form, a deed, a partnership agreement.
What it means
Statutes use the phrase to cover every document that can direct where property goes, because the rule being stated applies to all of them equally.
It matters because the governing instrument for a particular asset is often not the one the family is reading. A retirement account's governing instrument is the beneficiary form, not the will.
Where two documents both appear to reach an asset, the question is which one governs it — and that is decided by what kind of asset it is.
Why it matters
It is the phrase that appears in the statute a family is trying to apply, and reading it as "the will" is a frequent way that statute gets misread.
It is also the discipline worth adopting asset by asset: for each thing the person owned, which document says where it goes?
When you are likely to meet it
- When reading a statute that uses the phrase.
- When a will and an account form disagree.
- When working out which document controls a particular asset.
How this varies by state
Some states define the term by statute and list what it reaches; others do not use it at all. New Jersey's list expressly names insurance policies, POD and TOD accounts and retirement plans.