Free Tennessee Last Will and Testament
Build a complete Tennessee will in minutes — free, no account. Fill in your details and download a ready-to-sign PDF with the protective clauses built in and Tennessee's correct signing requirements.
A free, ready-to-sign will — but not legal advice.
This builds a complete Tennessee 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 — Tennessee 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 Tennessee: A valid attested Tennessee will must be signed by the testator (or signed at the testator's direction/acknowledged) in the presence of at least two attesting witnesses, and both witnesses must sign in the presence of the testator AND in the presence of each other (Tenn. Code § 32-1-104). Tennessee also recognizes holographic wills entirely in the testator's handwriting (signature + all material provisions), with handwriting proved by two witnesses at probate (§ 32-1-105). Notarization is not required for validity, but the witnesses' affidavit under § 32-2-110 — sworn before a notary and attached to the will — makes the will self-proving so the witnesses need not appear at probate when the will is uncontested.
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, Tennessee, 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. Tennessee 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 Tennessee.
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], Tennessee.
____________________________________
[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 (Tenn. Code § 32-2-110) — sign this part before a notary to make probate easier:
Tennessee does not fix a single rigid verbatim affidavit form in the statute. Under Tenn. Code § 32-2-110, any or all attesting witnesses may make and sign an affidavit before an officer authorized to administer oaths, stating the facts they would be required to testify to in court to prove the will; the affidavit must be written on the will or, if impracticable, on paper attached to it. When the will is uncontested, that sworn statement is accepted by the probate court as if taken before the court. Template language used in Tennessee practice:
"STATE OF TENNESSEE, COUNTY OF [COUNTY]. We, [TESTATOR NAME], [WITNESS 1 NAME], and [WITNESS 2 NAME], the testator and the witnesses, respectively, whose names are signed to the attached or foregoing instrument, being first duly sworn, do hereby declare to the undersigned authority that the testator signed and executed the instrument as the testator's last will, that the testator signed willingly (or willingly directed another to sign for the testator), and executed it as the testator's free and voluntary act for the purposes expressed in it; 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 each witness's knowledge the testator was at that time eighteen (18) years of age or older, of sound mind, and under no constraint or undue influence.
___________ Testator ___________ Witness ___________ Witness
Subscribed, sworn to, and acknowledged before me by the testator, and subscribed and sworn to before me by the witnesses, this ___ day of ____, 20__.
___________ Notary Public (SEAL) My commission expires: ____"
How to Sign Your Will in Tennessee
A valid attested Tennessee will must be signed by the testator (or signed at the testator's direction/acknowledged) in the presence of at least two attesting witnesses, and both witnesses must sign in the presence of the testator AND in the presence of each other (Tenn. Code § 32-1-104). Tennessee also recognizes holographic wills entirely in the testator's handwriting (signature + all material provisions), with handwriting proved by two witnesses at probate (§ 32-1-105). Notarization is not required for validity, but the witnesses' affidavit under § 32-2-110 — sworn before a notary and attached to the will — makes the will self-proving so the witnesses need not appear at probate when the will is uncontested.
Tennessee requires 2 witnesses: For a will other than holographic or nuncupative: the testator signs the will (or acknowledges a signature already made, or has another sign in the testator's presence and at the testator's direction) in the presence of at least two attesting witnesses, and each of the two witnesses signs in the presence of the testator AND in the presence of each other (Tenn. Code § 32-1-104).. 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 (Tenn. Code § 32-2-110) 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 Tennessee?
Tennessee recognizes holographic wills (Tenn. Code § 32-1-105): no attesting witness is required, but the signature and ALL material provisions must be in the testator's own handwriting, and the testator's handwriting must be proved at probate by two witnesses. Even so, a typed will signed in front of witnesses is far less likely to be challenged, because handwritten wills are easy to get wrong (unclear gifts, no date, no witnesses) and invite disputes.
Spousal and Family Protections in Tennessee
Can you disinherit your spouse? You CANNOT fully disinherit a spouse. Tennessee uses a SLIDING SCALE by length of marriage (its own scale, not the UPC percentages): the elective share equals a percentage of the decedent's NET estate based on years married — less than 3 years = 10%; 3 to under 6 years = 20%; 6 to under 9 years = 30%; 9 years or more = 40% (MAXIMUM). Years married to the same person are combined even if separated by divorce. The spouse may also claim homestead, exempt property, and a year's-support allowance on top of the elective share.
Children born after your will: Tennessee protects a pretermitted child (a child born or adopted, or otherwise not provided for, after/around the will's execution): such a child may take an intestate-equivalent share unless the will shows the omission was intentional or the child was otherwise provided for. Tenn. Code Ann. § 32-3-103. Express disinheritance/intent language is needed to omit a child. This is why the generator has you name your children and states that any omission is intentional.
If a beneficiary dies before you: When a devisee or legatee predeceases the testator leaving ISSUE who survive the testator, the issue take the estate/interest the devisee would have taken — unless a different disposition is required by the will. Tennessee's protected class is broad ('issue' of any devisee/legatee, not limited to close blood relatives), so anti-lapse can reach further than the UPC grandparent-descendant model. Generator should include an express alternate-taker/survivorship clause to control disposition. The generator's "per stirpes" option and survivorship clause work alongside this rule.
Survivorship, No-Contest, and Digital Assets
Survivorship: Tennessee has adopted the Uniform Simultaneous Death Act, including a 120-hour survival requirement (Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 31-3-120 et seq.). For devises, a non-surviving beneficiary triggers lapse/anti-lapse. Best practice (and generator default) is an express survivorship period of 30–60 days, which TN honors. The generator builds in a 30-to-60-day survivorship period regardless.
No-contest clauses: No-contest (in terrorem) clauses are enforceable in Tennessee, but the forfeiture is NOT enforced where the contest was brought in good faith and upon probable cause / reasonable justification (long-standing Tennessee common-law rule; the parallel trust statute, Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-1014, codifies the same probable-cause exception for trusts). Generator may include a no-contest clause but should warn it will not bar a good-faith, probable-cause contest.
Digital assets: Tennessee 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: Tennessee 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 Tennessee?
Tennessee does NOT give a surviving spouse everything when there are children. Instead the spouse takes a 'child's share' of the whole estate but never less than one-third — so the spouse and one child split 50/50, while with three or more children the spouse is floored at one-third. Tennessee ignores stepchild status, and the spouse inherits the entire estate only when no children survive.
- Spouse, no children: Entire intestate estate. If there is no surviving issue of the decedent, the surviving spouse takes the whole estate (parents do not take when a spouse survives).
- Spouse and shared children: Spouse takes a child's share of the entire intestate estate, but in no event less than 1/3. So with one child the spouse and child each take 1/2; with two children, each of the three takes 1/3; with three or more children the spouse takes 1/3 (its floor) and the children split the remaining 2/3. Issue take by representation.
- Spouse and a child from another relationship: Same formula — Tennessee makes NO distinction for joint vs. step children. The spouse takes a child's share but not less than 1/3, counting all of the decedent's children regardless of parentage.
- Children, no spouse: No spouse: the whole estate passes to the decedent's issue, by representation (per stirpes under § 31-2-104(b)).
- No spouse or children: No spouse, no issue: to surviving parent(s) equally (or all to one); then to siblings and their issue by representation; then to grandparents (split between paternal and maternal lines) and their issue; escheats to the state if no heirs.
Unmarried partners, friends, and stepchildren you have not adopted generally receive nothing under intestacy. A will is how you override these defaults. Source: Tenn. Code Ann. § 31-2-104.
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 Tennessee?
Yes, if you sign it correctly. Tennessee 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 Tennessee will need to be notarized?
No. Tennessee 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 Tennessee will need?
2 witnesses. For a will other than holographic or nuncupative: the testator signs the will (or acknowledges a signature already made, or has another sign in the testator's presence and at the testator's direction) in the presence of at least two attesting witnesses, and each of the two witnesses signs in the presence of the testator AND in the presence of each other (Tenn. Code § 32-1-104). They should be adults who do not inherit under the will.
Can I leave my spouse out of my Tennessee will?
You CANNOT fully disinherit a spouse. Tennessee uses a SLIDING SCALE by length of marriage (its own scale, not the UPC percentages): the elective share equals a percentage of the decedent's NET estate based on years married — less than 3 years = 10%; 3 to under 6 years = 20%; 6 to under 9 years = 30%; 9 years or more = 40% (MAXIMUM). Years married to the same person are combined even if separated by divorce. The spouse may also claim homestead, exempt property, and a year's-support allowance on top of the elective share.
What happens if I die without a will in Tennessee?
Tennessee does NOT give a surviving spouse everything when there are children. Instead the spouse takes a 'child's share' of the whole estate but never less than one-third — so the spouse and one child split 50/50, while with three or more children the spouse is floored at one-third. Tennessee ignores stepchild status, and the spouse inherits the entire estate only when no children survive.
Does a Tennessee 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 Tennessee?
Generally 18. Any person of sound mind 18 years of age or older may make a will (Tenn. Code § 32-1-102). You must also be of sound mind.
Can I write my will by hand in Tennessee?
Tennessee recognizes handwritten (holographic) wills, but they are easy to get wrong and easy to challenge. A typed, witnessed will is much safer.
Do I need a lawyer to make a will in Tennessee?
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 Tennessee 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 Tennessee estate-planning attorney. RecordingLaw.com is not a law firm.
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