A video will is a recorded statement in which a person describes their final wishes — sometimes as a supplement to a written will, sometimes as the emotional heart the written document can never capture. Where a written will answers what should happen, a video will answers why, and in whose voice.
At Belima, we don’t believe those two things should live in separate drawers. Your words, your face, and your legal instructions should be recorded together — delivered together — to the people who need them.
Is a video will legally binding?
On its own, a video recording is generally not accepted as a legally binding will in most jurisdictions. Legal wills still require the written, signed, and witnessed form prescribed by local law.
That’s why Belima produces two things in parallel: the personal video message you record, and a structured written draft generated from your answers. The draft is formatted so that your lawyer, notary, or chosen witnesses can review it, make any necessary adjustments, and finalise it as a binding will under the laws of your country.
Belima handles the structure. Your lawyer handles the signatures.
Why record a video will?
Written wills protect assets. Video wills protect meaning. A video preserves things a document cannot:
- Your voice — the cadence, the laugh, the pauses
- Your face — the way you look when you say “I love you”
- Your context — the kitchen, the garden, the room you lived in
- Your explanations — why you gave what you gave to whom
- Your blessings — wedding days, first children, first heartbreaks
For many families, the video is what gets watched every anniversary. The written will gets filed once.
How Belima records a video will
Most people sit down with a camera and freeze. “What do I even say?” Belima removes that blank-page problem by interviewing you — gently, question by question, with an AI trained on the things people wish they’d asked before it was too late.
The interview flow
- Choose a recipient: your spouse, a child, a friend, a grandchild you’ve never met
- Answer the questions Belima asks — in your own time, in your own words
- Review the transcript and edit anything you want to
- Belima generates a matching draft will from the practical parts of your answers
- Send the draft to your lawyer for review and legal finalisation
Who should record a video will?
Anyone can, and most people who do say they wish they’d started earlier. Belima was built with three groups in mind:
- Parents — especially those with young children, who want to leave messages for birthdays, weddings, and hard days they won’t be there for
- Grandparents — who want to tell family stories in their own voice before memory fades
- People with a serious diagnosis — who want to say what matters while they still can, without performance pressure
Storage, privacy, and delivery
Your video wills are encrypted and stored privately. Nothing is delivered until your trusted contacts confirm the moment — and we require at least two of them to agree, so no single person can release your words by mistake. You choose who the recipients are by email; they don’t need the app.
With Belima’s Forever plan, your messages stay safe for your family’s lifetime with no ongoing subscription. Paid once, held forever.
Start with one question
The hardest part is starting. Belima makes the starting line smaller: answer one question today. You can always answer more tomorrow.