Free Arkansas Last Will and Testament
Build a complete Arkansas will in minutes — free, no account. Fill in your details and download a ready-to-sign PDF with the protective clauses built in and Arkansas's correct signing requirements.
A free, ready-to-sign will — but not legal advice.
This builds a complete Arkansas 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 — Arkansas 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 Arkansas: Sign the will at the end (or acknowledge your signature, or have another sign for you in your presence) and declare to the witnesses that it is your will. Two competent witnesses (18+) must then sign at your request and IN YOUR PRESENCE and in the presence of each other. To self-prove, each attesting witness signs an Ark. Code § 28-25-106 affidavit before a notary stating the facts they would testify to; the affidavit is written on or affixed to the will and, in an uncontested probate, is accepted in lieu of live testimony. Notarization of the will itself is not required. Arkansas also recognizes holographic wills (entirely handwritten and signed), proven by three disinterested handwriting witnesses.
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, Arkansas, 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.
Arkansas 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 Arkansas.
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], Arkansas.
____________________________________
[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 (Ark. Code § 28-25-106) — sign this part before a notary to make probate easier:
AFFIDAVIT OF ATTESTING WITNESS. STATE OF ARKANSAS, COUNTY OF [COUNTY]. On this [DAY] day of [MONTH], [YEAR], before me, the undersigned authority, personally appeared [WITNESS NAME], who, being by me first duly sworn, declared to me that: [WITNESS NAME] is an attesting witness to the will of [TESTATOR NAME]; the testator signed and published the instrument as the testator's last will, or acknowledged to the attesting witnesses that the instrument was the testator's will, in the presence of the affiant and the other attesting witness; the testator at the time of executing the will was over the age of eighteen (18) years and of sound mind; and the affiant and the other attesting witness signed the will as witnesses at the request and in the presence of the testator and in the presence of each other. [WITNESS SIGNATURE]. Subscribed and sworn to before me this [DAY] day of [MONTH], [YEAR]. [SIGNATURE OF NOTARY / OFFICER], (Seal). (Title of officer.)
How to Sign Your Will in Arkansas
Sign the will at the end (or acknowledge your signature, or have another sign for you in your presence) and declare to the witnesses that it is your will. Two competent witnesses (18+) must then sign at your request and IN YOUR PRESENCE and in the presence of each other. To self-prove, each attesting witness signs an Ark. Code § 28-25-106 affidavit before a notary stating the facts they would testify to; the affidavit is written on or affixed to the will and, in an uncontested probate, is accepted in lieu of live testimony. Notarization of the will itself is not required. Arkansas also recognizes holographic wills (entirely handwritten and signed), proven by three disinterested handwriting witnesses.
Arkansas requires 2 witnesses: At least two attesting witnesses. The testator must sign at the end of the will (or acknowledge a prior signature, or have another sign at the testator's direction in the testator's presence) and must declare to the witnesses that the instrument is the testator's will. The witnesses must sign at the request and IN THE PRESENCE OF THE TESTATOR (Ark. Code § 28-25-103). Witnesses must be 18 or older and competent (§ 28-25-102). A beneficiary may witness, but an interested witness forfeits any beneficial interest exceeding what they would receive by intestacy unless there are two other disinterested witnesses (Ark. Code § 28-25-102(b)).. Your will does not need to be notarized to be valid. Sign the self-proving affidavit (Ark. Code § 28-25-106) before a notary so your witnesses won't have to testify in probate.
Arkansas also recognizes holographic (handwritten) wills, but a typed, witnessed will is far less likely to be challenged.
Can You Disinherit a Spouse in Arkansas?
Cannot fully disinherit a spouse. Arkansas is a DOWER/CURTESY state (not a UPC elective-share state). A surviving spouse may renounce the will and 'take against the will,' receiving the spouse's dower or curtesy interest plus statutory allowances. If the decedent left descendants, the surviving spouse takes a one-third (1/3) LIFE ESTATE in the decedent's real property and one-third of personal property absolutely. If NO descendants and married 1+ year, the spouse takes one-half of real and personal property (subject to limits). Homestead and statutory allowances are additional.
No-contest clauses: No-contest (in terrorem) clauses are generally valid and enforceable in Arkansas (no statute voiding them; case law), but courts strictly construe them against forfeiture and recognize an exception where the contest was brought in GOOD FAITH and upon probable cause. Treated as enforced-unless-probable-cause for the schema.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a will made online valid in Arkansas?
Yes, if you sign it correctly. Arkansas 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 Arkansas will need to be notarized?
No. Arkansas does not require your will to be notarized. Notarizing the separate self-proving affidavit is optional but makes probate easier.
How many witnesses does a Arkansas will need?
2 witnesses. At least two attesting witnesses. The testator must sign at the end of the will (or acknowledge a prior signature, or have another sign at the testator's direction in the testator's presence) and must declare to the witnesses that the instrument is the testator's will. The witnesses must sign at the request and IN THE PRESENCE OF THE TESTATOR (Ark. Code § 28-25-103). Witnesses must be 18 or older and competent (§ 28-25-102). A beneficiary may witness, but an interested witness forfeits any beneficial interest exceeding what they would receive by intestacy unless there are two other disinterested witnesses (Ark. Code § 28-25-102(b)). They should be adults who do not inherit under the will.
Can I leave my spouse out of my Arkansas will?
Cannot fully disinherit a spouse. Arkansas is a DOWER/CURTESY state (not a UPC elective-share state). A surviving spouse may renounce the will and 'take against the will,' receiving the spouse's dower or curtesy interest plus statutory allowances. If the decedent left descendants, the surviving spouse takes a one-third (1/3) LIFE ESTATE in the decedent's real property and one-third of personal property absolutely. If NO descendants and married 1+ year, the spouse takes one-half of real and personal property (subject to limits). Homestead and statutory allowances are additional.
Is this really free?
Yes. The generator is free, requires no account, and runs 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 Arkansas 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 Arkansas estate-planning attorney. RecordingLaw.com is not a law firm.
Know someone who could use this? Share this free tool: