Last will and testament

Say who gets what, who carries it out, and who raises your children. Fill in your wishes, sign, and have two witnesses attest from their own phones. Then print it and re-sign on paper if your state requires it.

A simple will in which you name an executor, a guardian for any minor children, leave specific gifts, and give the rest of your estate to the people you choose. You sign it in front of two witnesses, who sign an attestation clause; a self-proving affidavit lets a court accept the will without calling them.

Sign in to use this template · Set the few terms only you can, reword anything, and send it to be filled in and signed. The people you send to never need an account.

What it covers

When to use it

What it does not do

Signing, witnesses and delivery

The agreement

Last Will and Testament

I, [Your full legal name], residing at [Your address], in [County of residence] County, State of [Governing law (state)], being of sound mind and memory and at least eighteen years of age, and not acting under duress, menace, fraud or the undue influence of any person, declare this to be my Last Will and Testament (my “Will”). I revoke all wills and codicils I have previously made.

Article 1. Family

I am [Marital status]. My spouse or partner is [Spouse or partner: name (or “None”)], and every reference in this Will to my spouse is to that person. My children are: [Children: names and dates of birth (or “None”)]. References in this Will to my children include any child born to or adopted by me after the date of this Will, and references to my descendants include the descendants of my children. I have intentionally provided for my family as set out in this Will, and any omission of a family member is deliberate.

Article 2. Executor

2.1 Appointment. I appoint [Executor: name], of [Executor: address], as Executor of my Will. If that person does not survive me, or is unable or unwilling to serve or to continue serving, I appoint [Alternate executor: name] as Executor. The term “Executor” includes any personal representative of my estate, whoever it may be.

2.2 Bond. Bond or other security for my Executor is: [Executor bond]. To the extent the law allows, I request that the court not require any bond of an Executor I have named.

2.3 Independent administration. I direct that my estate be administered with as little court supervision as the law of my domicile allows, including independent, informal or unsupervised administration where available.

Article 3. Powers of the Executor

In addition to every power given by law, my Executor may, without court order: retain, sell at public or private sale, exchange, lease, mortgage or otherwise dispose of any real or personal property of my estate on the terms my Executor thinks fit; invest and reinvest estate funds; pay, compromise, contest or abandon any claim by or against my estate; borrow money and give security; employ and pay attorneys, accountants, appraisers and other agents; make distributions in cash or in kind, or partly in each, at values my Executor determines, without regard to the income tax basis of the property; make any tax election available to my estate; deal with my digital assets and online accounts, including the content of electronic communications, to the extent the law allows; and sign, acknowledge and deliver every document needed to carry out these powers. My Executor shall have no liability for any act or omission made in good faith.

Article 4. Guardian of Minor Children

If at my death any child of mine is a minor and no parent of that child survives me and is able to act, I appoint [Guardian of minor children: name (or “Not applicable”)] as guardian of the person and estate of each minor child. If that person does not survive me or is unable or unwilling to serve, I appoint [Alternate guardian: name (or “Not applicable”)] as guardian. I request that no bond be required of any guardian I have named, and I ask the court to give great weight to this appointment as my considered judgment of who should raise my children.

Article 5. Debts, Expenses and Taxes

I direct my Executor to pay from my residuary estate my legally enforceable debts as they become due, the expenses of my last illness and funeral, and the costs of administering my estate. My Executor need not pay before maturity any debt secured by a mortgage or lien on property passing under this Will, and the beneficiary of that property takes it subject to the debt unless I have directed otherwise. All estate, inheritance and similar taxes payable by reason of my death on property passing under this Will shall be paid from my residuary estate as an expense of administration, without apportionment. My wishes for my funeral and remains are: [Wishes for funeral or remains (or “As my executor decides”)].

Article 6. Specific Gifts

I give the following specific gifts: [Specific gifts (or “None”)]. If a person named to receive a specific gift does not survive me by the period stated in Article 8, and no alternate is named for that gift, the gift lapses and becomes part of my residuary estate. If an item given is not part of my estate at my death, the gift fails and the beneficiary receives nothing in its place. Any personal property not disposed of by a specific gift passes with my residuary estate, and my Executor may honour a signed and dated written list I leave disposing of tangible personal property, to the extent the law of my domicile allows such a list.

Article 7. Residuary Estate

I give all the rest, residue and remainder of my estate, real and personal, wherever situated, including property over which I hold a power of appointment and any lapsed or failed gift (my “residuary estate”), to [Everything else goes to], if that beneficiary survives me by the period stated in Article 8. If that beneficiary does not so survive me, I give my residuary estate to [If they do not survive you, everything else goes to]. If no beneficiary named in this Article survives me, my residuary estate passes to those persons who would take it under the intestacy laws of my domicile as if I had died without a will.

Article 8. Survivorship; Simultaneous Death

A beneficiary who does not survive me by [Survivorship period (days)] days shall be treated as having died before me, and any gift to that beneficiary shall be disposed of as if the beneficiary had predeceased me. If my spouse and I die under circumstances in which the order of our deaths cannot be established, I shall be deemed to have survived my spouse for the purposes of this Will, and my estate shall be administered accordingly.

Article 9. Gifts to Young or Incapacitated Beneficiaries

If any property passes under this Will to a person who is under the age of [Age at which a young beneficiary receives their share outright] years, my Executor may distribute it to a custodian for that person under the Uniform Transfers to Minors Act of my domicile or of the state where the person lives, to be held until the person reaches that age or the maximum age that Act allows, whichever is less; and if the person is a minor child of mine, the guardian named in Article 4 shall be custodian unless my Executor chooses otherwise. If any property passes to a person who is incapacitated, my Executor may distribute it to that person’s guardian, conservator or agent under a durable power of attorney, or apply it directly for the person’s benefit. A receipt from the custodian, guardian, conservator or agent fully discharges my Executor.

Article 10. General Provisions

10.1 No contest. If any beneficiary under this Will, directly or indirectly, contests or seeks to set aside this Will or any of its provisions without probable cause, that beneficiary shall be treated as having predeceased me without descendants, to the extent the law of my domicile enforces such a provision.

10.2 Definitions. “Survive” means to be living on the relevant date and to satisfy the survivorship period in Article 8. A child in gestation at my death who is later born alive is treated as living at my death. “By representation” means a division into as many equal shares as there are living members of the nearest generation with a living member and deceased members of that generation who left living descendants, with each deceased member’s share divided among their descendants in the same way. Adopted persons are treated as born to their adoptive parents.

10.3 Governing law; severability. This Will is governed by the laws of the State of [Governing law (state)]. If any provision is held invalid, the remaining provisions shall be given full effect, and the invalid provision shall be read as narrowly as needed to make it valid.

10.4 Headings; number. Headings are for convenience only. The singular includes the plural and each gender includes the others where the context requires.

Article 11. Signature of Testator

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I, [Your full legal name], sign my name to this instrument, consisting of this and the preceding pages, on the date shown in the execution record, and being first duly sworn, declare to the undersigned witnesses that I sign and execute this instrument as my Last Will and Testament, that I sign it willingly, that I execute it as my free and voluntary act for the purposes expressed in it, and that I am eighteen years of age or older, of sound mind, and under no constraint or undue influence.

Article 12. Attestation of Witnesses

We, [First witness: name], of [First witness: address], and [Second witness: name], of [Second witness: address], the witnesses, each declare that the testator, [Your full legal name], signed this instrument in our presence and declared it to be the testator’s Last Will and Testament; that at the testator’s request and in the testator’s presence, and in the presence of each other, we sign our names as witnesses; that to the best of our knowledge the testator is eighteen years of age or older, of sound mind, and under no constraint or undue influence; and that each of us is eighteen years of age or older and is not a beneficiary under this Will.

We each sign on the date shown in the execution record, and where the law of the testator’s domicile requires it, again in ink on the printed original in the presence of the testator and of each other.

Article 13. Self-Proving Affidavit

STATE OF [Governing law (state)], COUNTY OF [County of residence]. We, [Your full legal name], [First witness: name] and [Second witness: name], the testator and the witnesses respectively, whose names are signed to the attached or foregoing instrument, being first duly sworn, declare to the undersigned authority that the testator signed and executed the instrument as the testator’s Last Will and Testament, that the testator signed willingly (or willingly directed another to sign for the testator), that the testator executed it as the testator’s free and voluntary act for the purposes expressed in it, and that each of the witnesses, in the presence and hearing of the testator and of each other, signed the Will as witness, and that to the best of the witnesses’ knowledge the testator was at that time eighteen years of age or older, of sound mind, and under no constraint or undue influence.

This affidavit is to be subscribed and sworn to by the testator and both witnesses before a notary public or other officer authorised to administer oaths, on the printed original of this Will, and the officer’s certificate, seal and commission details are to be completed there. Until so sworn, this Article has no effect, but the remainder of this Will is unaffected.

Signatures

Testator (the person making the will) · First witness · Second witness

Last Will and Testament FAQ

Is an electronically signed will valid?

Only in a handful of states, each with its own conditions. Nearly everywhere the law still requires a paper will signed in ink before two witnesses. Use the electronic signature to assemble the document and lock in everyone’s names, then print and re-execute on paper with your witnesses and a notary. The paper original is what the court will accept.

What does self-proving mean?

A self-proving affidavit is a sworn statement by you and your witnesses, before a notary, that the will was signed properly. It lets the probate court admit the will without calling the witnesses to testify, which matters years later when they may have moved or died. Almost every state recognises one; the wording here follows the Uniform Probate Code form.

Can I leave my spouse out?

Not entirely. Every state protects a surviving spouse: community property states give them half of the marital property outright, and the rest give an elective share, often a third to a half of the estate. A will that gives less can be challenged. If you want to limit a spouse’s share, you need a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement and an attorney.

Who should be executor?

Someone organised, honest and likely to outlive you, who lives in or near your state; many states restrict or bond out-of-state executors. Name an alternate. You can waive the bond, which saves the estate money if you trust the person.

Can I fill this in for my parent and leave the gifts blank?

Yes. Enter their name and family, leave the executor, guardian, gifts and residuary beneficiaries blank, and send it. Your parent fills in each choice when they open the link and signs; the two witnesses sign in the same sitting. Then print it and execute it on paper. A beneficiary should not be the one pressing the choices; let your parent complete them alone.

What if a beneficiary dies before me?

The will says. Each specific gift lapses and falls into the residuary estate unless you name an alternate. The residuary has an alternate beneficiary, and a survivorship period so that someone who dies days after you does not inherit and pass it on through their own estate. Most states also have anti-lapse rules that send a deceased child’s share to their children.

Do I need a lawyer?

For a simple estate, no; this will is complete. See an attorney if you have a business, property in more than one state, an estate large enough for estate tax, a child from a prior relationship, a beneficiary receiving disability benefits, or family members likely to fight. Those situations need trusts or tailored clauses this form does not have.

Related templates

This template is general information, not legal advice. Laws differ by state; review anything important with a lawyer.

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