Free Texas Last Will and Testament
Build a complete Texas will in minutes — free, no account. Fill in your details and download a ready-to-sign PDF with the protective clauses built in and Texas's correct signing requirements.
A free, ready-to-sign will — but not legal advice.
This builds a complete Texas 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 — Texas 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 Texas: A valid attested Texas will must be in writing, signed by the testator (or by another person at the testator's direction in the testator's presence), and attested by two or more credible witnesses who are at least 14 years old and who sign their names in their own handwriting in the testator's presence (Tex. Est. Code § 251.051). Texas does NOT require the witnesses to sign in each other's presence. Notarization is not required to make the will valid. To make the will self-proving (so witnesses need not appear at probate), attach the statutory self-proving affidavit of § 251.104, sworn by the testator and both witnesses before an officer authorized to administer oaths, who affixes an official seal. Texas also recognizes wholly handwritten (holographic) wills with no witnesses (§ 251.052).
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, Texas, 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.
Texas does not give legal effect to a separate personal-property memorandum, so any specific items must be listed in this Will itself to be binding.
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 Texas.
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], Texas.
____________________________________
[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 (Tex. Est. Code § 251.104 (form); § 251.101-251.107 (self-proved wills)) — sign this part before a notary to make probate easier:
Texas prescribes a statutory self-proving affidavit. Under Tex. Est. Code § 251.104, a will may be simultaneously executed, attested, and made self-proved using the combined form in substantially the following content (faithful reconstruction of the § 251.104 statutory form; verify exact wording against the live statute):
"I, [TESTATOR NAME], as testator, after being duly sworn, declare to the undersigned witnesses and to the undersigned authority that this instrument is my will, that I willingly make and execute it in the presence of the undersigned witnesses, all of whom are present at the same time, as my free act and deed, and that I request each of the undersigned witnesses to sign this will in my presence and in the presence of each other. I now sign this will in the presence of the attesting witnesses and the undersigned authority on this ___ day of ____, 20__.
_________________________ Testator
The undersigned, [WITNESS 1 NAME] and [WITNESS 2 NAME], each being at least fourteen years of age, after being duly sworn, declare to the testator and to the undersigned authority that the testator declared to us that this instrument is the testator's will and that the testator executed it as such and wanted each of us to sign it as a witness; and that, under oath, each of us declares to the undersigned authority that the foregoing is true and correct and that we each signed as witnesses in the presence of the testator and at the testator's request; that the testator at that time possessed the capacity to make a will; and that to the best of our knowledge the testator was, at that time, eighteen years of age or older (or being under eighteen years of age was or had been lawfully married, or was then a member of the armed forces of the United States or of an auxiliary of the armed forces of the United States or of the United States Maritime Service), of sound mind, and under no constraint or undue influence.
_________________________ Witness
_________________________ Witness
Subscribed and sworn to before me by the said [TESTATOR NAME], testator, and by the said [WITNESS 1 NAME] and [WITNESS 2 NAME], witnesses, this ___ day of ____, 20__.
(SEAL) _________________________ (Official Capacity of Officer)"
How to Sign Your Will in Texas
A valid attested Texas will must be in writing, signed by the testator (or by another person at the testator's direction in the testator's presence), and attested by two or more credible witnesses who are at least 14 years old and who sign their names in their own handwriting in the testator's presence (Tex. Est. Code § 251.051). Texas does NOT require the witnesses to sign in each other's presence. Notarization is not required to make the will valid. To make the will self-proving (so witnesses need not appear at probate), attach the statutory self-proving affidavit of § 251.104, sworn by the testator and both witnesses before an officer authorized to administer oaths, who affixes an official seal. Texas also recognizes wholly handwritten (holographic) wills with no witnesses (§ 251.052).
Texas requires 2 witnesses: Two or more credible witnesses who are at least 14 years of age must attest the will by signing their names in their own handwriting in the testator's presence (Tex. Est. Code § 251.051). An interested witness does not void the will, but a devise to a subscribing witness is void unless the will can be otherwise proved (e.g., by another disinterested witness) or the witness would inherit anyway (Tex. Est. Code § 254.002).. 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 (Tex. Est. Code § 251.104 (form); § 251.101-251.107 (self-proved wills)) 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 Texas?
Texas recognizes holographic wills: a will written wholly in the testator's handwriting needs no attesting witnesses (Tex. Est. Code § 251.052). A holographic will may be made self-proved by attaching the testator's affidavit under Tex. Est. Code § 251.107. 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 Texas
Can you disinherit your spouse? Texas is a COMMUNITY-PROPERTY state and has NO elective/forced share statute. The surviving spouse already owns one-half of all community property outright, so the deceased spouse can only will away his/her own half of the community estate plus separate property. A spouse CAN be disinherited from the decedent's separate property and the decedent's half of community property. However, two non-waivable protections survive any will: the surviving spouse's homestead right (a life estate / right of occupancy in the homestead even if devised to others) and the statutory family/exempt-property allowances. So 'full' disinheritance of a spouse is impossible in practice because of homestead + the spouse's pre-existing 50% community interest.
Children born after your will: A 'pretermitted child' is a child born or adopted AFTER the will was executed (or after the testator's death) who is not provided for in the will and not mentioned/provided for outside the will. Such a child takes a share computed under §§ 255.053-255.056 (intestate-style share, reduced if the testator had other living children when the will was made). No share if the testator provided for the child inside or outside the will or the omission appears intentional. 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 protects a devisee who is a descendant of the testator OR a descendant of the testator's parent (i.e., the testator's children/grandparents'-line relatives, including siblings/nieces/nephews). If such a devisee predeceases the testator (or is treated as predeceasing under the survival rule), that devisee's descendants who survive the testator by 120 hours take the gift in the predeceased devisee's place. Applies unless the will provides otherwise. A non-protected devisee's failed non-residuary gift falls into the residuary estate. The generator's "per stirpes" option and survivorship clause work alongside this rule.
Survivorship, No-Contest, and Digital Assets
Survivorship: Texas follows the 120-hour (5-day) survival rule. A devisee/heir who does not survive the decedent by 120 hours is treated as having predeceased, unless the will provides otherwise. Adopted from the Uniform Simultaneous Death Act / UPC §2-702. The generator builds in a 30-to-60-day survivorship period regardless.
No-contest clauses: Forfeiture (in terrorem) clauses are enforceable, BUT the clause is NOT enforced if the contestant proves by a preponderance of the evidence that (1) just cause existed for bringing the action AND (2) the action was brought and maintained in good faith. The statute also will not bar a beneficiary from compelling a fiduciary to perform duties, suing for breach of fiduciary duty, or seeking a judicial construction of the will/trust.
Digital assets: Texas 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: Texas does not give legal effect to a separate personal-property memorandum, so list any specific items in the will itself.
What Happens If You Die Without a Will in Texas?
Texas intestacy is one of the most complex in the country because it splits community property and separate property under different rules. A surviving spouse keeps all community property only when there are no children or every child is also the spouse's; if the decedent had a child from another relationship, that child's branch takes the decedent's half of the community property. For separate property the spouse's share is smaller — typically one-third of personal property and only a life estate in one-third of the land when children survive.
- Spouse, no children: Surviving spouse takes the entire estate (all community property passes to the spouse, and on the separate estate the spouse takes all personal property and one-half of land; with no surviving parents, siblings, or their descendants, the spouse takes the entire separate estate too).
- Spouse and shared children: If ALL the decedent's children are also children of the surviving spouse, all of the decedent's one-half community-property interest passes to the spouse (spouse ends up with 100% of community property). On the SEPARATE estate, the spouse takes one-third of the personal property and a life estate in one-third of the land; the remaining two-thirds of separate personal property and the remainder of the land pass to the children.
- Spouse and a child from another relationship: The gotcha: if even one of the decedent's children is NOT a child of the surviving spouse, the decedent's one-half interest in the COMMUNITY property passes to the decedent's children (not the spouse) — so the spouse keeps only their own one-half of community property. On the SEPARATE estate the split is the same as with joint children: spouse takes one-third of separate personal property + a life estate in one-third of the land, children take the rest.
- Children, no spouse: No spouse: the entire estate passes to the decedent's children and their descendants, per capita with representation (descendants of a deceased child take that child's share by representation).
- No spouse or children: No spouse, no descendants: estate splits one-half to the paternal kindred and one-half to the maternal kindred — to surviving parent(s); then to siblings and their descendants; then up to grandparents and their descendants; ultimately escheating to the State if no kindred exist.
Community property: Texas distinguishes community property (acquired during marriage) from separate property (owned before marriage or received by gift/inheritance). Community property: passes entirely to the surviving spouse ONLY if there are no children or all children are also the spouse's; if any child is from another relationship, the decedent's one-half of the community property goes to the children. Separate property: spouse gets one-third of personal property + life estate in one-third of land when there are children; all personal property + one-half of land when there are no children.
Unmarried partners, friends, and stepchildren you have not adopted generally receive nothing under intestacy. A will is how you override these defaults. Source: Tex. Est. Code §§ 201.001-201.003.
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 Texas?
Yes, if you sign it correctly. Texas 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 Texas will need to be notarized?
No. Texas 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 Texas will need?
2 witnesses. Two or more credible witnesses who are at least 14 years of age must attest the will by signing their names in their own handwriting in the testator's presence (Tex. Est. Code § 251.051). An interested witness does not void the will, but a devise to a subscribing witness is void unless the will can be otherwise proved (e.g., by another disinterested witness) or the witness would inherit anyway (Tex. Est. Code § 254.002). They should be adults who do not inherit under the will.
Can I leave my spouse out of my Texas will?
Texas is a COMMUNITY-PROPERTY state and has NO elective/forced share statute. The surviving spouse already owns one-half of all community property outright, so the deceased spouse can only will away his/her own half of the community estate plus separate property. A spouse CAN be disinherited from the decedent's separate property and the decedent's half of community property. However, two non-waivable protections survive any will: the surviving spouse's homestead right (a life estate / right of occupancy in the homestead even if devised to others) and the statutory family/exempt-property allowances. So 'full' disinheritance of a spouse is impossible in practice because of homestead + the spouse's pre-existing 50% community interest.
What happens if I die without a will in Texas?
Texas intestacy is one of the most complex in the country because it splits community property and separate property under different rules. A surviving spouse keeps all community property only when there are no children or every child is also the spouse's; if the decedent had a child from another relationship, that child's branch takes the decedent's half of the community property. For separate property the spouse's share is smaller — typically one-third of personal property and only a life estate in one-third of the land when children survive.
Does a Texas 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 Texas?
Generally 18. A person 18 years of age or older may make a will; also a person under 18 who is or has been married, OR who is a member of the U.S. armed forces, an auxiliary, or the U.S. Maritime Service (Tex. Est. Code § 251.001). You must also be of sound mind.
Can I write my will by hand in Texas?
Texas 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 Texas?
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 Texas 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 Texas estate-planning attorney. RecordingLaw.com is not a law firm.
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