ST. THOMAS, V.I. — Less than 48 hours before Jeffrey Epstein hanged himself, he was preparing for death: He had just signed his will, according to court documents filed on Monday in the Virgin Islands.

Mr. Epstein was found early on Saturday, Aug. 10, after he had ended his life with a bedsheet he had tied to his bunk in a federal jail cell in Manhattan. Left behind were scores of anguished accusers, a universe of unanswered questions and a $500 million fortune, which he ordered placed in a hastily arranged trust.

“The 1953 Trust,” apparently named for Mr. Epstein’s birth year, was established the same day the will was signed — two days before he was found dead in his cramped cell in the Metropolitan Correctional Center.

“In witness whereof, I have duly executed this will, 8 day of August 2019,” Mr. Epstein wrote, followed by a small, looping blue signature.