Can I leave my siblings out of my will and name overseas friends instead?

There are two sides to every gift under a will. One side is the act of giving the gift. The other side is the act of receiving it. This reader wrote to me to talk about leaving gifts to friends in Italy in her will, which posed a couple of interesting issues. Here are her note and my response:

 "I am a Canadian living abroad for work purposes and my loved ones to whom I wish to leave my