Free Texas Last Will and Testament

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.

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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