Free Missouri Last Will and Testament
Build a complete Missouri will in minutes — free, no account. Fill in your details and download a ready-to-sign PDF with the protective clauses built in and Missouri's correct signing requirements.
A free, ready-to-sign will — but not legal advice.
This builds a complete Missouri will with the protective clauses most templates skip (survivorship period, residuary, minor's trust, executor powers). It becomes legally valid only when you sign it correctly (see the signing steps below). For a large or blended estate, have an attorney review it. RecordingLaw.com is not a law firm.
About you
Children
Name all your children, even any you are not leaving anything to — naming them prevents an 'omitted child' claim.
Who inherits everything else (your residuary estate)
The catch-all gift of everything not specifically given. Shares should total 100%.
Specific gifts (optional)
Particular items or sums to particular people.
Executor (the person who carries out your will)
Options
Naming them states the omission is intentional. Note: you generally cannot fully disinherit a spouse (see the warnings).
Before you sign — Missouri notes
Choose 2 witnesses who are adults and who do NOT inherit under this Will. A beneficiary (or a beneficiary's spouse) should never witness your Will.
Add at least one residuary beneficiary with a share above 0%. Without a residuary gift, everything not specifically given would pass by intestacy (state default rules), defeating the point of the Will.
To make this Will valid in Missouri: In Missouri, a valid will must be in writing, signed by the testator (or by another person at the testator's direction and in the testator's presence), and attested by two or more competent witnesses who subscribe their names to the will in the testator's presence. No notary is required for validity. To make the will self-proving so witnesses need not testify in probate, the testator and both witnesses acknowledge and swear to a self-proving affidavit before a notary or other officer authorized to administer oaths (§474.337). Missouri does NOT recognize holographic (unwitnessed handwritten) wills, so two witnesses are always required.
This is a do-it-yourself Will for a straightforward estate. If you have a large or blended estate, business interests, tax concerns, a special-needs beneficiary, or want to disinherit close family, have an attorney review it. This is not legal advice and RecordingLaw.com is not a law firm.
Or email yourself a copy (PDF)
Last Will and Testament of [YOUR FULL NAME]
ARTICLE I — DECLARATION
I, [YOUR FULL NAME], a resident of [CITY], [COUNTY] County, Missouri, being of full legal age to make a will and of sound mind and memory, declare this to be my Last Will and Testament, and I revoke all wills and codicils I have previously made.
ARTICLE II — FAMILY
I am not married.
If I have not named or provided for a child or other descendant in this Will, that omission is intentional and not the result of accident or mistake.
ARTICLE III — PAYMENT OF DEBTS, EXPENSES, AND TAXES
I direct my Executor to pay my legally enforceable debts, the expenses of my last illness and funeral, the costs of administering my estate, and any estate or inheritance taxes payable by reason of my death, out of the residue of my estate, without apportionment.
ARTICLE IV — TANGIBLE PERSONAL PROPERTY
I give my tangible personal property (household goods, furniture, vehicles, jewelry, collections, and personal effects not otherwise specifically given) to my residuary beneficiaries as they agree, or as my Executor determines if they cannot agree.
I may leave a separate written memorandum, signed and dated by me, disposing of items of tangible personal property. Missouri law allows such a memorandum to be given effect, and I direct my Executor to honor the most recent such memorandum I leave.
ARTICLE V — RESIDUARY ESTATE
I give all the rest, residue, and remainder of my estate to [RESIDUARY BENEFICIARY].
If no beneficiary named in this article survives me, my residuary estate shall pass to my heirs at law under the intestacy laws of my state.
ARTICLE VI — SURVIVORSHIP
Except as otherwise provided, a beneficiary must survive me by 30 days to receive any gift under this Will. A beneficiary who does not survive me by 30 days shall be treated as having predeceased me. This protects my estate from passing through the estate of a beneficiary who dies shortly after me.
ARTICLE VII — APPOINTMENT OF EXECUTOR
I nominate [EXECUTOR NAME] as Executor of this Will.
I direct that my Executor serve without bond and, to the fullest extent allowed by law, without court supervision (independent administration). My Executor shall have all powers granted to executors and personal representatives under the law of my state, including the power to sell, lease, invest, and distribute estate property, to pay debts and taxes, and to settle claims, all without prior court approval, as my Executor deems to be in the best interest of my estate.
ARTICLE VIII — DIGITAL ASSETS
I authorize my Executor to access, manage, distribute, and dispose of my digital assets and electronic communications, and to act as my fiduciary under the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (or its equivalent in my state), with full authority to consent to a custodian's disclosure of the content and records of my electronic communications and accounts.
ARTICLE IX — SIMULTANEOUS DEATH
If any beneficiary and I die under circumstances in which the order of our deaths cannot be established, that beneficiary shall be deemed to have predeceased me. If my spouse and I die under such circumstances, my spouse shall be deemed to have predeceased me.
ARTICLE X — GENERAL PROVISIONS
This Will shall be governed by the laws of the State of Missouri.
If any provision of this Will is held invalid, the remaining provisions shall remain in full effect. Words of one gender include the other, and the singular includes the plural, as the context requires. The headings are for convenience only and do not affect the meaning of this Will.
EXECUTION
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I sign this Will, consisting of the foregoing pages, on this _____ day of ____________, 20____, at [CITY], Missouri.
____________________________________
[YOUR FULL NAME], Testator
ATTESTATION — The foregoing instrument was signed by the Testator and declared to be the Testator's Will in our presence, and we, at the Testator's request and in the Testator's presence and in the presence of each other, sign below as witnesses, believing the Testator to be of sound mind and under no constraint or undue influence.
Witness 1: ____________________________ Address: ____________________________
Witness 2: ____________________________ Address: ____________________________
SELF-PROVING AFFIDAVIT (Mo. Rev. Stat. §474.337) — sign this part before a notary to make probate easier:
THE STATE OF MISSOURI, COUNTY OF [COUNTY]. Before me, the undersigned authority, on this day personally appeared [TESTATOR NAME], [WITNESS 1], and [WITNESS 2], known to me to be the testator and the witnesses, respectively, whose names are subscribed to the annexed or foregoing instrument in their respective capacities, and, all of said persons being by me first duly sworn, [TESTATOR NAME], testator, declared to me and to the said witnesses in my presence that said instrument is the testator's last will and testament, and that the testator had willingly signed and executed it in the presence of said witnesses as the testator's free and voluntary act for the purposes therein expressed; that said witnesses, at the request of the testator, in the presence of the testator and in the presence of each other, did subscribe their names thereto as attesting witnesses on the day of the date of said will; and that the testator, at the time of the execution of said instrument, was of full age (or otherwise legally competent to make a will) and of sound mind, and that each of said witnesses was at the time eighteen years of age or over. ____________________ Testator. ____________________ Witness. ____________________ Witness. Subscribed, acknowledged and sworn to before me by [TESTATOR NAME], the testator, and by [WITNESS 1] and [WITNESS 2], witnesses, this ____ day of __________, 20__. ____________________ (SEAL) (Signed) (Official capacity of officer).
How to Sign Your Will in Missouri
In Missouri, a valid will must be in writing, signed by the testator (or by another person at the testator's direction and in the testator's presence), and attested by two or more competent witnesses who subscribe their names to the will in the testator's presence. No notary is required for validity. To make the will self-proving so witnesses need not testify in probate, the testator and both witnesses acknowledge and swear to a self-proving affidavit before a notary or other officer authorized to administer oaths (§474.337). Missouri does NOT recognize holographic (unwitnessed handwritten) wills, so two witnesses are always required.
Missouri requires 2 witnesses: Attested by two or more competent witnesses subscribing their names to the will in the presence of the testator. Mo. Rev. Stat. §474.320. An interested witness does not invalidate the will, but unless the will is also attested by two disinterested witnesses, the interested witness forfeits any bequest exceeding what they would have taken in intestacy. Mo. Rev. Stat. §474.330.. Your will does not need to be notarized to be valid.
Choose witnesses who are adults and who do not inherit under your will. A beneficiary should never witness your will. Then sign the self-proving affidavit (Mo. Rev. Stat. §474.337) in front of a notary. That sworn statement lets the court accept your will without tracking down your witnesses later, which speeds up probate.
Can You Use a Handwritten (Holographic) Will in Missouri?
No. Missouri does not recognize holographic (handwritten, unwitnessed) wills — a handwritten note will not work. Your will must be typed and signed in front of 2 witnesses, which is exactly what this generator produces.
Spousal and Family Protections in Missouri
Can you disinherit your spouse? Cannot fully disinherit a spouse. A surviving spouse may elect to TAKE AGAINST the will (RSMo 474.160): 1/2 of the estate (subject to claims) if the testator left NO lineal descendants, or 1/3 of the estate if the testator left lineal descendants — in addition to exempt property and the statutory allowance, but offset by any homestead allowance. The 'estate' for this purpose is augmented to include property the spouse received from the decedent by non-testate means without full consideration (RSMo 474.163), curbing avoidance via will-substitutes. Electing is treated as taking by descent and the spouse takes NOTHING under the will.
Children born after your will: Pretermitted-child rule (RSMo 474.240): a child born or adopted AFTER the will is executed and not provided for takes the share they would have received in intestacy, unless the will shows an intent to omit or the standard exceptions apply. A child living and known when the will was signed can be disinherited. This is why the generator has you name your children and states that any omission is intentional.
If a beneficiary dies before you: Anti-lapse (RSMo 474.460): when an estate is devised to a CHILD, GRANDCHILD, OR OTHER RELATIVE of the testator and the devisee predeceases (or is treated as predeceasing) leaving lineal descendants who survive the testator by 120 hours, those descendants take the gift as the devisee would have. Broader than 'descendant-only' but limited to relatives of the testator. The generator's "per stirpes" option and survivorship clause work alongside this rule.
Survivorship, No-Contest, and Digital Assets
Survivorship: 120-hour (5-day) survival requirement is built into Missouri's anti-lapse (474.460: descendants must survive the testator by 120 hours) and the simultaneous-death provisions. Generator should still add an express survivorship clause (30-60 days). The generator builds in a 30-to-60-day survivorship period regardless.
No-contest clauses: Missouri enforces no-contest clauses under common law, BUT courts recognize a good-faith/probable-cause approach and RSMo 474.395 provides a safe-harbor: an interested person may petition the court for an advance interlocutory determination of whether a proposed action would trigger forfeiture, and the statute leaves ultimate enforceability to 'applicable law and public policy' (incorporating sec. 456.4-420 for trusts). Net effect: enforceable, but a good-faith challenge with probable cause is generally not penalized.
Digital assets: Missouri has adopted the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, so your executor can manage your online accounts and digital property — the generator includes a clause granting that authority.
Personal-property list: Missouri lets you leave a separate signed list (a "memorandum") giving away specific personal items, so you can update who gets what without rewriting your will.
What Happens If You Die Without a Will in Missouri?
Missouri is not a UPC state and uses a $20,000 first-dollar formula. A surviving spouse takes everything only if there are no descendants AND no other surviving kindred. With joint children, the spouse takes the first $20,000 plus half the rest; with stepchildren in the mix, the spouse loses the $20,000 and takes a flat one-half. When there is no spouse and no descendants, parents and siblings inherit together as one class.
- Spouse, no children: If there is no surviving issue, the surviving spouse takes the entire intestate estate when no other kindred (parents, siblings, etc.) survive. If there is no issue but other kindred survive, the spouse takes the first $20,000 plus 1/2 of the balance, with the remainder to those kindred (RSMo §474.010(1)(a)).
- Spouse and shared children: The surviving spouse takes the first $20,000 plus 1/2 of the balance; the remaining 1/2 passes to the descendants, all of whom are also issue of the surviving spouse (RSMo §474.010(1)(b)).
- Spouse and a child from another relationship: If one or more of the decedent's surviving descendants are NOT issue of the surviving spouse, the spouse takes only 1/2 of the estate (no $20,000 first-dollar allowance); the other 1/2 passes to the descendants (RSMo §474.010(1)(c)).
- Children, no spouse: With no spouse, the entire estate passes to the decedent's children or their descendants in equal parts (per stirpes — descendants of a deceased child take that child's share) (RSMo §474.010(2)(a)).
- No spouse or children: To the decedent's father, mother, brothers and sisters or their descendants in equal parts (parents and siblings share as one class); then to grandparents, uncles, aunts or their descendants; then to great-grandparents or their descendants; limited to the 9th degree of kinship (RSMo §474.010(2)).
Unmarried partners, friends, and stepchildren you have not adopted generally receive nothing under intestacy. A will is how you override these defaults. Source: RSMo § 474.010.
Updating, Revoking, and Storing Your Will
Review your will after any big life change — marriage, divorce, a birth, a death, or a move to a new state. To change it, either sign a new will that revokes the old one (the cleanest option, and what this generator produces) or add a witnessed "codicil." Do not cross things out on a signed will — handwritten edits can invalidate it. Store the signed original somewhere safe and tell your executor where it is; a will that cannot be found is presumed revoked.
Common mistakes to avoid: using a beneficiary as a witness; forgetting a residuary clause (so part of the estate passes by intestacy); leaving a young child a lump sum outright at 18 instead of in trust; not naming a backup executor or guardian; and never actually signing the document. The generator above is built to avoid each of these.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a will made online valid in Missouri?
Yes, if you sign it correctly. Missouri requires 2 witnesses. The document this tool creates is a standard typed will; it becomes legally valid when you sign it following the steps above.
Does my Missouri will need to be notarized?
No. Missouri does not require your will to be notarized to be valid. Notarizing the separate self-proving affidavit is optional but makes probate easier.
How many witnesses does a Missouri will need?
2 witnesses. Attested by two or more competent witnesses subscribing their names to the will in the presence of the testator. Mo. Rev. Stat. §474.320. An interested witness does not invalidate the will, but unless the will is also attested by two disinterested witnesses, the interested witness forfeits any bequest exceeding what they would have taken in intestacy. Mo. Rev. Stat. §474.330. They should be adults who do not inherit under the will.
Can I leave my spouse out of my Missouri will?
Cannot fully disinherit a spouse. A surviving spouse may elect to TAKE AGAINST the will (RSMo 474.160): 1/2 of the estate (subject to claims) if the testator left NO lineal descendants, or 1/3 of the estate if the testator left lineal descendants — in addition to exempt property and the statutory allowance, but offset by any homestead allowance. The 'estate' for this purpose is augmented to include property the spouse received from the decedent by non-testate means without full consideration (RSMo 474.163), curbing avoidance via will-substitutes. Electing is treated as taking by descent and the spouse takes NOTHING under the will.
What happens if I die without a will in Missouri?
Missouri is not a UPC state and uses a $20,000 first-dollar formula. A surviving spouse takes everything only if there are no descendants AND no other surviving kindred. With joint children, the spouse takes the first $20,000 plus half the rest; with stepchildren in the mix, the spouse loses the $20,000 and takes a flat one-half. When there is no spouse and no descendants, parents and siblings inherit together as one class.
Does a Missouri will avoid probate?
No. A will still goes through probate — it directs how your estate is distributed and names your executor, but the court still supervises (often a simplified, independent administration). To avoid probate entirely, people use living trusts and beneficiary designations in addition to a will.
How old do I have to be to make a will in Missouri?
Generally 18. Any person 18 years of age or older, of sound mind, may make a will; an emancipated minor may also make a will. Mo. Rev. Stat. §474.310. You must also be of sound mind.
Can I write my will by hand in Missouri?
No. Missouri does not recognize handwritten, unwitnessed wills. Your will must be typed and properly witnessed.
Do I need a lawyer to make a will in Missouri?
Not for a straightforward estate — a properly signed will is valid whether or not a lawyer drafts it. See an attorney if you have a large or blended estate, business interests, tax concerns, a special-needs beneficiary, or want to disinherit close family.
Is this really free?
Yes. The generator is free, requires no account, and runs entirely in your browser — your answers are not sent to a server. It is not legal advice and RecordingLaw.com is not a law firm.
Disclaimer
This generator produces a general-purpose will for a straightforward estate and is not legal advice or a substitute for an attorney. Will and probate law changes; the Missouri requirements here are current as of 2026-06-03. A will is only valid if signed and witnessed correctly. For a large, blended, or complex estate, tax planning, a special-needs beneficiary, or to disinherit close family, consult a Missouri estate-planning attorney. RecordingLaw.com is not a law firm.
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