Nuncupative Will

It's that cliche moment in a war movie. One member of the platoon (the one who, five minutes ago, was talking about how he just got the papers sending him home) is dying slowly from a rocket blast right to the groin. With his last breath, he implores his best buddy to bring his watch, a precious family heirloom, to his newborn son. Or tells the buddy to takeover operation of his shrimping boat. Or tells him to take care of his wife (we all know what the buddy is going to do with that one).

These oral instructions represent a form of nuncupative will. In this form of will, expressions of dying wishes are given out loud, instead of written down, like a normal will. Most states don't accept nuncupative wills, and those that do have some requirements to make them binding (like, they need to be heard by more than one witness, etc.).