Tennessee Will and Trust Laws: Witnesses, Holographic Wills (2026)

A Tennessee will, other than a handwritten (holographic) or oral (nuncupative) will, must be signed by the testator and at least two witnesses: the testator must tell the witnesses that the document is his or her will and sign it (or acknowledge a signature already made, or direct someone else to sign) in the presence of two or more witnesses, and the witnesses must sign in the presence of the testator and of each other (Tenn. Code Ann. 32-1-104(a)). Any person of sound mind aged 18 or older may make a will (32-1-102). Living trusts are governed by Title 35, Chapter 15, which "shall be known and may be cited as the 'Tennessee Uniform Trust Code'" (35-15-101).

Compared with many wills and trusts laws by state, Tennessee keeps several older features: the testator must declare the will to the witnesses, the witnesses must sign in each other's presence, a holographic will is valid without witnesses but its handwriting must be proved by two witnesses, and a narrow oral will is allowed for a person in imminent peril of death. Its self-proving affidavit is signed by the witnesses, not the testator.

Information last verified on 2026-10-20. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers Tennessee statutes on making, signing, proving, changing and revoking wills (Tenn. Code Ann. Title 32) and on revocable living trusts (the Tennessee Uniform Trust Code, Title 35, Chapter 15), with the spouse's elective share in Title 31. It does not cover what happens when someone dies without a will or how estate administration works (see Tennessee probate), small-estate procedures (see the Tennessee small estate affidavit page), powers of attorney (see Tennessee power of attorney laws), or taxes. A living will is a health-care directive, not a will; see the Tennessee advance directive tool.

What makes a will valid in Tennessee?

Who can make a will

Section 32-1-102 provides: "Any person of sound mind eighteen (18) years of age or older may make a will." The section has no exception for a married or emancipated person under 18.

Signing and witnessing

Section 32-1-104(a) sets the execution rule for every will that is not holographic or nuncupative:

"The execution of a will, other than a holographic or nuncupative will, must be by the signature of the testator and of at least two (2) witnesses as follows: (1) The testator shall signify to the attesting witnesses that the instrument is the testator's will and either: (A) The testator sign; (B) Acknowledge the testator's signature already made; or (C) At the testator's direction and in the testator's presence have someone else sign the testator's name; and (D) In any of the above cases the act must be done in the presence of two (2) or more attesting witnesses. (2) The attesting witnesses must sign: (A) In the presence of the testator; and (B) In the presence of each other." (Tenn. Code Ann. 32-1-104(a))

That text has four working parts:

• The testator declares the will. The testator must "signify to the attesting witnesses that the instrument is the testator's will." Signing in front of witnesses who are not told what the document is does not satisfy this.
• The testator signs, acknowledges or directs. The testator signs, acknowledges a signature already made, or has someone else sign at the testator's direction and in the testator's presence.
• Two or more witnesses are present for that act.
• The witnesses sign in the presence of the testator and of each other.

No notary is part of the rule.

Wills signed before July 1, 2016

A 2016 amendment (Acts 2016, chapter 843) added 32-1-104(b) for older wills where the witnesses signed the self-proving affidavit but not the will itself: "For wills executed prior to July 1, 2016, to the extent necessary for the will to be validly executed, witness signatures affixed to an affidavit meeting the requirements of § 32-2-110 shall be considered signatures to the will," subject to the conditions that follow in 32-1-104(b).

Interested witnesses

Under 32-1-103, "No will is invalidated because attested by an interested witness, but any interested witness shall, unless the will is also attested by two (2) disinterested witnesses, forfeit so much of the provisions therein made for the interested witness as in the aggregate exceeds in value, as of the date of the testator's death, what the interested witness would have received had the testator died intestate."

Wills signed outside Tennessee

Under 32-1-107(a), "a written will executed outside this state in a manner prescribed by the law of the place of its execution or by the law of the testator's domicile at the time of its execution, shall have the same force and effect in this state as if executed in this state in compliance with those sections."

A 2026 law (Public Chapter 616, effective July 1, 2026) added a proof rule in 32-1-107(b): such a will "is sufficiently proved to be admitted to probate in this state if it is proved that the will could be admitted to probate: (1) In the state where it was signed; (2) Under the law of the testator's domicile at the time of its execution;" or by the other methods the subsection lists.

Does a Tennessee will need to be notarized? The witness affidavit

No notary is required to make a Tennessee will valid. At probate, the witnesses are the usual proof: under 32-2-104(a), "Written wills with witnesses, when not contested, shall be proved by at least one of the subscribing witnesses, if living. Every last will and testament, written or nuncupative, when contested, shall be proved by all the living witnesses, if to be found, and by such other persons as may be produced to support it."

Section 32-2-110 provides the alternative that is usually called a self-proving affidavit:

"Any or all of the attesting witnesses to any will may, at the request of the testator or, after the testator's death, at the request of the executor or any person interested under the will, make and sign an affidavit before any officer authorized to administer oaths in or out of this state, stating the facts to which they would be required to testify in court to prove the will, which affidavit shall be written on the will or, if that is impracticable, on some paper attached to the will, and the sworn statement of any such witness so taken shall be accepted by the court of probate when the will is not contested as if it had been taken before the court." (Tenn. Code Ann. 32-2-110)

Four points follow from the text:

• The witnesses sign it, not the testator. The affidavit is made by "the attesting witnesses."
• It can be made later. The witnesses may make it at the testator's request or, after death, at the request of the executor or any person interested under the will.
• The officer may be in or out of Tennessee.
• What it does. The affidavit goes on the will or a paper attached to it, and the probate court accepts it "when the will is not contested as if it had been taken before the court." In a contest, 32-2-104(a) still calls for all the living witnesses.

Are handwritten (holographic) wills valid in Tennessee?

Yes. Section 32-1-105 provides: "No witness to a holographic will is necessary, but the signature and all its material provisions must be in the handwriting of the testator and the testator's handwriting must be proved by two (2) witnesses."

Two features matter in practice. The signature and all material provisions must be in the testator's handwriting, and while no witness is needed at signing, two witnesses must later prove the handwriting.

A 2022 law (Public Chapter 942, effective July 1, 2022) added a contest rule in 32-4-105(b): "Upon the contest of a holographic will, if the holographic will was written within thirty (30) days prior to a testator's death and the testator died by suicide, then there is a presumption of suspicious circumstances and the proponent of the will has the burden of presenting evidence demonstrating that the testator had the capacity to execute the will."

Are oral (nuncupative) wills valid in Tennessee?

Only in a narrow situation. Section 32-1-106 provides: "A nuncupative will may be made only by a person in imminent peril of death, whether from illness or otherwise, and shall be valid only if the testator died as a result of the impending peril," and it must be "(1) Declared to be the testator's will by the testator before two (2) disinterested witnesses; (2) Reduced to writing by or under the direction of one (1) of the witnesses within thirty (30) days after such declaration; and (3) Submitted for probate within six (6) months after the death of the testator." The amount is capped:

"The nuncupative will may dispose of personal property only and to an aggregate value not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), except that in the case of persons in active military, air or naval service in time of war the aggregate amount may be ten thousand dollars ($10,000)." (Tenn. Code Ann. 32-1-106(b))

An oral will cannot pass real estate. "A nuncupative will neither revokes nor changes an existing written will" (32-1-106(c)), and it cannot be proved until fourteen days after the death and after process has issued to call in the surviving spouse or next of kin to contest it (32-2-106(a)).

Electronic wills and remote witnessing

Current law

Tennessee's will statutes contain no electronic-will provision. Section 32-1-104(a) requires the witnesses to sign "In the presence of the testator" and "In the presence of each other," and Title 32, Chapter 1 contains no electronic or remote alternative to that rule. The state's Uniform Electronic Transactions Act does not fill the gap: under 47-10-103(b)(1), "This chapter does not apply to a transaction to the extent it is governed by: (1) A law governing the creation and execution of wills, codicils, or testamentary trusts."

Tennessee does have a permanent Online Notary Public Act (Title 8, Chapter 16, Part 3), under which "appear" includes "Appearing before an online notary public by means of an interactive two-way audio and video communication that meets the online notarization requirements under rules promulgated by the secretary of state" (8-16-302), and an online notary physically located in Tennessee may perform an online notarization "without regard to the physical location of the principal" (8-16-307(3)). That act governs notarial acts; it is not a rule for the attesting witnesses that 32-1-104 requires.

The COVID-era orders (expired)

For about a year, executive orders let wills be witnessed by video. Executive Order No. 26, issued April 9, 2020, suspended "Any law, including, but not limited to, the common law, the provisions of Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 8, Chapter 16, and Titles 32, 34, 66, and 68, and any related rules, requiring a Signatory to execute a Document in the physical presence of, or while physically appearing before, a notary public or Witness(es), or requiring a Witness(es) to witness a Document in the physical presence of, or while physically appearing before, a notary public or another Witness(es)," to the extent the order set out.

The order attached conditions, including that the signing and witnessing:

• "must occur via real-time audio and visual communication means where the Signatory, the notary public, and Witness(es), as applicable, can see and hear one another simultaneously";
• required that the participants "must each be physically located in Tennessee during the real-time audio and visual communication";
• required the witnesses to verify the signer's identity over the video link "by personal knowledge or by government-issued identification," the signer and witnesses to identify the document on camera, and the signing to be captured close enough to observe;
• required the document to "include a provision stating that it was executed in compliance with" the executive order; and
• had to be memorialized either by signing separate signature pages in counterparts or by the witnesses later signing the original document, which had to be "completed not later than ten calendar days from the date of the execution of the Document" (Executive Order 26, paragraph 3).

Executive Order 26 ran to May 18, 2020 and was extended by Executive Orders 37 (to June 30, 2020), 52, 61 (to September 30, 2020), 64 (to October 30, 2020), 66 (to December 29, 2020), 72 (through February 27, 2021) and 79. Executive Order 79 provided that the arrangement "shall remain in effect until 11 :59 p.m., Central Time, on April 28, 2021." That arrangement has expired; current law is the in-person rule in 32-1-104.

Changing or revoking a Tennessee will

Methods of revocation

Section 32-1-201 lists the acts that revoke a will, including:

"(3) Being burned, torn, cancelled, obliterated or destroyed, with the intent and for the purpose of revoking it, by the testator or by another person in the testator's presence and by the testator's direction; or (4) Both the subsequent marriage and the birth of a child of the testator, but divorce or annulment of the subsequent marriage does not revive a prior will." (Tenn. Code Ann. 32-1-201)

Subsection (4) requires both events: a later marriage and the birth of a child of the testator.

Divorce and annulment

Section 32-1-202 provides:

"If after executing a will the testator is divorced or the testator's marriage annulled, the divorce or annulment revokes any disposition or appointment of property made by the will to the former spouse, any provision conferring a general or special power of appointment on the former spouse, and any nomination of the former spouse as executor, trustee, conservator or guardian, unless the will expressly provides otherwise." (Tenn. Code Ann. 32-1-202(a))

Under 32-1-202(c), "If provisions are revoked solely by this section, they are revived by the testator's remarriage to the former spouse."

Revoked gifts pass "as if the former spouse failed to survive the decedent but § 32-3-105 shall not apply," so the anti-lapse rule does not pass them to the former spouse's descendants (32-1-202(b)). "A decree of separation that does not terminate the status of husband and wife is not a divorce for purposes of this section" (32-1-202(d)).

Section 32-1-202 speaks of provisions "made by the will," but the will rule is not the whole story for a trust. The Tennessee Uniform Trust Code provides: "The rules of construction that apply in this state to the interpretation of and disposition of property by will also apply as appropriate to the interpretation of the terms of a trust and the disposition of the trust property" (35-15-112). The section does not list which will rules it carries over, so how a revocable trust that names a former spouse is read after a divorce depends on that section and the trust's own terms.

Section 32-1-202 itself does not address a life insurance or retirement beneficiary designation that names a former spouse; those designations follow their own terms and any other law that applies to them.

Homicide

Under 31-1-106, "An individual who feloniously and intentionally kills the decedent forfeits all benefits with respect to the decedent's estate, including an intestate share, an elective share, an omitted spouse's or child's share, a homestead allowance, exempt property, and a family allowance."

Safekeeping and contest deadline

A will may be deposited during life "by the person making the will, or by any person for the person making the will, with the court exercising probate jurisdiction in the county where the testator lives" (32-1-112).

After a death, anyone who "has possession of or discovers" a will "shall mail or deliver that instrument to the personal representative named in the instrument as soon as the person or corporation has knowledge of the death," with a photographic copy to the probate clerk of the county where the decedent lived. If no personal representative is named, known or able to serve, or no estate needs administration, the original goes to the clerk (32-1-113). Destroying or concealing a will "with intent to prevent the probate thereof or defraud any devisee or legatee" is a Class E felony (39-14-131).

After probate, under 32-4-108, "All actions or proceedings to set aside the probate of any will, or petitions to certify a will for an issue of devisavit vel non, must be brought within two (2) years from entry of the order admitting the will to probate, or be forever barred," subject to the section's other terms. Probate procedure is covered on the Tennessee probate page.

Limits on what a Tennessee will can do

Spouse's elective share. A surviving spouse can claim a share set by the length of the marriage. The schedule in 31-4-101(a) reads: "less than 3 years 10% of the net estate 3 years but less than 6 years 20% of the net estate 6 years but less than 9 years 30% of the net estate 9 years or more 40% of the net estate." The petition must be filed "within nine (9) months after the date of death" (31-4-102(a)(1)).

Public Chapter 717 of 2026, effective July 1, 2026, amended subsection (c) of 31-4-101, which concerns how the elective share is computed. Under the amended text, "the decedent's gross estate shall be determined by the court in the same manner as the gross estate is determined for federal estate tax purposes," with the qualifications the subsection adds.

Children born after the will. Under 32-3-103(a), "A child born after the making of a will, either before or after the death of the testator, inclusive of a mother-testator, not provided for nor disinherited, but only pretermitted, in the will, and not provided for by settlement made by the testator in the testator's lifetime, shall succeed to the same portion of the testator's estate as if the testator had died intestate."

Beneficiaries who die first. Section 32-3-105(a) sets an anti-lapse rule for wills, and 32-3-105(b) extends it to living trusts: "Subsection (a) shall apply also to a revocable (living) trust that became irrevocable upon the death of its settlor or grantor. The surviving issue of a beneficiary who predeceased a settlor or grantor shall take the trust interest the beneficiary would have received had the beneficiary survived the settlor or grantor, unless the trust agreement provides otherwise."

A separate list of tangible items. Section 32-3-115(a) allows a separate writing for certain tangible personal property if it is "either in the handwriting of the testator or signed by the testator; (ii) Be dated; and (iii) Describe the items and the devisees with reasonable certainty." Section 35-15-605 has a parallel rule for a revocable trust.

What heirs receive when there is no will is covered on the Tennessee probate page.

Revocable living trusts in Tennessee

The trust code

The Tennessee Uniform Trust Code is Title 35, Chapter 15 (35-15-101), enacted in 2004 and effective July 1, 2004. Section 35-15-103 defines the key term: ""Revocable" as applied to a trust, means revocable by the settlor without the consent of the trustee or a person holding an adverse interest."

Creating a trust

Under 35-15-402(a), "A trust is created only if: (1) The settlor has capacity to create a trust; (2) The settlor indicates an intention to create the trust; (3) The trust has a definite beneficiary or is:" one of the listed exceptions, along with the section's remaining requirements.

Tennessee does not require will formalities for a living trust. Section 35-15-601 provides:

"To be effective as a post death disposition of property transferred during the transferor's life or by the transferor's will to a trust of which the transferor is the settlor or deemed to be the settlor, neither a revocable nor irrevocable trust existing on or executed after July 1, 2004, has to be executed with the formalities of a will." (Tenn. Code Ann. 35-15-601)

A written instrument is not strictly required either: "Except as required by a statute other than this chapter, a trust need not be evidenced by a trust instrument, but the creation of an oral trust and its terms may be established only by clear and convincing evidence" (35-15-407).

Under 35-15-402(d), "A lifetime trust is valid as to any assets held by the trust to the extent the assets have been transferred to the trust." Real estate, stocks, bonds, bank and brokerage accounts and similar registrable assets are transferred "through the recording of the deed or the completion of registration of the asset in the name of the trust or trustee," not through "only a recital of assignment, holding, or receipt in the trust instrument"; other assets are transferred by a recital of assignment describing the asset.

A 2025 law (Public Chapter 101, effective July 1, 2025) amended 35-15-402(d) on moving tangible personal property into a trust: "Tangible personal property other than money, an evidence of indebtedness, a document of title, a security, and property used in a trade or business may be assigned to a trust, either during the grantor's life or after the grantor's death, by delivery of a written instrument that: (i) Is signed by the transferor;" and meets the subsection's other requirements.

Capacity

Under 35-15-601, "The capacity required to create, amend, revoke, or add property to a revocable trust, or to direct the actions of the trustee of a revocable trust, is the same as that required to make a will."

Revocable by default, with a date limit

Section 35-15-602(a) provides: "Unless the terms of a trust expressly provide that the trust is irrevocable, the settlor may revoke or amend the trust. This subsection (a) does not apply to a trust created under an instrument executed before July 1, 2004."

How to revoke or amend

"The settlor may revoke or amend a revocable trust: (1) By substantial compliance with a method provided in the terms of the trust; or (2) If the terms of the trust do not provide a method or the method provided in the terms is not expressly made exclusive, by: (A) A later will or codicil that expressly refers to the trust or specifically devises property that would otherwise have passed according to the terms of the trust; or (B) Any other method manifesting clear and convincing evidence of the settlor's intent." (Tenn. Code Ann. 35-15-602(c))

An agent under a power of attorney may exercise the settlor's powers of revocation, amendment or distribution "only to the extent expressly authorized by the terms of the trust or the power" (35-15-602(e)). The Tennessee power of attorney laws page covers how those documents are made.

While the settlor is alive

Under 35-15-603(a), "While a trust is revocable and the settlor has capacity to revoke the trust, rights of the beneficiaries are subject to the control of, and the duties of the trustee are owed exclusively to, the settlor." Since a 2023 law (Public Chapter 166), 35-15-606 also lets the settlor change trustees: "The settler of a revocable trust may remove a trustee and appoint a successor trustee by giving written notice to the trustee being removed and to the successor trustee being appointed."

Under 35-15-505(a)(1), "During the lifetime of the settlor, the property of a revocable trust is subject to claims of the settlor's creditors."

Certification of trust

A trustee can prove the trust without handing over the document. Under 35-15-1013(a), "Instead of furnishing a copy of the trust instrument to any person to evidence the existence and validity of the trust, the trustee may furnish to such person a certification of trust, signed by the trustee or trustees having signatory authority as identified in subdivision (a)(5) and attested by a notary public," containing the items the section lists.

After the settlor dies: the contest deadline

Under 35-15-604(a), a proceeding to contest the validity of a trust that was revocable at the settlor's death must be brought within the earlier of "(1) Two (2) years after the settlor's death; or (2) One hundred twenty (120) days after the trustee sent the person a copy of the trust instrument and a notice informing the person of the trust's existence, the trustee's name and address, and the time allowed for commencing a proceeding to contest the validity of the trust."

Public Chapter 877 of 2022 rewrote the distribution rule in 35-15-604(b): after the settlor's death the trustee "is subject to liability for making the distribution only if at the time of the distribution: (1) The trustee had actual knowledge of a pending judicial proceeding contesting the validity of the trust;" or the other circumstance the subsection describes.

Notice to beneficiaries

The trustee of an irrevocable trust must, within sixty days after acceptance and funding, notify each current income beneficiary and each vested remainder beneficiary that the trust has been established, sending either a complete copy of the trust with the trustee's name, address and telephone number or an abstract of the trust (35-15-813(b)). That duty does not apply to the extent the trust terms provide otherwise or a settlor, trust protector or trust advisor with the power to do so directs otherwise in a writing delivered to the trustee (35-15-813(e)), and it does not apply to a trust that became irrevocable before July 1, 2004 (35-15-813(f)). This notice is separate from the copy and notice that can shorten the contest period under 35-15-604(a)(2).

No-contest clauses in trusts

Tennessee has its own rule for trust no-contest clauses. Under 35-15-1014, "a no-contest provision shall be enforceable according to the express terms of the no-contest provision without regard to the beneficiary's good or bad faith in taking the action that would justify the complete or partial forfeiture of the beneficiary's interest in the trust under the terms of the no-contest provision unless probable cause exists for the beneficiary taking such action on the grounds of: (1) Fraud;" or the other grounds the section lists. The 2013 act that added this section (Acts 2013, chapter 390) applies "to all trusts created before, on, or after July 1, 2013," except as otherwise provided.

Pour-over wills

A pour-over will leaves estate property to a trust. Tennessee's testamentary-additions section, 32-3-106, allows it "if the trust is identified in the testator's will and its terms are set forth in a written instrument (other than a will) executed before or concurrently with the execution of the testator's will or in the valid last will of a person who has predeceased the testator (regardless of the existence, size or character of the corpus of the trust)."

The timing matters: the trust instrument must be signed before or at the same time as the will. And "(4) A revocation or termination of the trust before the death of the testator shall cause the devise or bequest to lapse" (32-3-106(a)(4)).

Tennessee wills and trusts at a glance

Recent changes

• Public Chapter 616 (2026), effective July 1, 2026. Added 32-1-107(b) on proving a will signed outside Tennessee.
• Public Chapter 717 (2026), effective July 1, 2026. Amended 31-4-101(c) on how the decedent's gross estate is determined for the elective share.
• Public Chapter 101 (2025), effective July 1, 2025. Amended 35-15-402(d) on assigning tangible personal property to a trust by a signed written instrument.
• Public Chapter 166 (2023). Added 35-15-606, letting the settlor of a revocable trust remove a trustee and appoint a successor by written notice.
• Public Chapter 877 (2022). Re-enacted 35-15-604 and changed when a trustee is liable for distributing trust property after the settlor's death (35-15-604(b)); the two-year and 120-day contest limits were unchanged.
• Public Chapter 942 (2022), effective July 1, 2022. Added the suspicious-circumstances presumption for a holographic will written within 30 days before a death by suicide (32-4-105(b)).
• Executive Orders 26 through 79 (2020-2021). Allowed video witnessing under stated conditions from April 9, 2020 until April 28, 2021. Expired.

Making a will in practice

The site's free Tennessee will-maker tool can help draft a basic will. Whatever produces the document, signing must follow 32-1-104: the testator tells two or more witnesses that the document is the will and signs in their presence, and the witnesses sign in the presence of the testator and of each other. The witnesses' affidavit under 32-2-110 can make proof at probate simpler. Complex estates, blended families, business interests or tax questions are reasons to consult a lawyer licensed in Tennessee. The tool is not legal advice.

Members of the armed forces have one federal option as well: under 10 U.S.C. 1044d, a military testamentary instrument is exempt from state formalities and has the same legal effect as a will executed under the law of the state where it is presented for probate (see the wills and trusts hub for the federal layer).

Related pages

• Wills and trusts laws by state
• Tennessee probate
• Tennessee small estate affidavit
• Tennessee power of attorney laws

This article provides general legal information about Tennessee law on wills and revocable trusts as of 2026-10-20. It is not legal advice. For advice about a specific situation, contact a lawyer licensed in Tennessee or the probate court clerk in your county.

Last updated: 2026-10-20.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many witnesses does a will need in Tennessee?

At least two. The testator must signify to them that the document is the will and sign it, acknowledge the signature, or have someone sign at the testator's direction in their presence, and the witnesses must sign in the presence of the testator and of each other (Tenn. Code Ann. 32-1-104(a)). A holographic will needs no witnesses at signing.

Is a handwritten will valid in Tennessee?

Yes. Under 32-1-105, a holographic will needs no witnesses, but the signature and all material provisions must be in the testator's handwriting, and two witnesses must prove the handwriting.

Does a will have to be notarized in Tennessee?

No. A notary is not part of the 32-1-104 signing rule. The attesting witnesses may sign an affidavit under 32-2-110 before an officer authorized to administer oaths, stating the facts they would testify to in court; the testator does not sign it.

Are oral wills valid in Tennessee?

Only for a person in imminent peril of death who dies of that peril, and only for personal property up to $1,000 ($10,000 for persons in active military, air or naval service in time of war), and it must be declared before two disinterested witnesses, written down by one of them within 30 days, and submitted for probate within six months (32-1-106).

Can a will be witnessed by video in Tennessee?

Not under current law. Executive Order 26 (April 9, 2020) and its extensions allowed video witnessing with all participants physically in Tennessee, but Executive Order 79 ended the arrangement on April 28, 2021. Section 32-1-104 requires the witnesses to sign in the presence of the testator and of each other.

Does divorce revoke a will in Tennessee?

Divorce or annulment after the will is made revokes its gifts, powers of appointment and fiduciary nominations for the former spouse, unless the will expressly provides otherwise, and remarriage to the former spouse revives them (32-1-202). Under 35-15-112, the rules of construction for wills also apply as appropriate to trusts, so the question can reach a revocable trust; see the divorce section above.

Does getting married revoke a will in Tennessee?

Under 32-1-201(4), a will is revoked by both a later marriage and the birth of a child of the testator; the subsection requires both events.

Is a living trust revocable in Tennessee?

Under 35-15-602(a), the settlor may revoke or amend a trust unless its terms expressly make it irrevocable. That default does not apply to a trust created under an instrument signed before July 1, 2004.

How long do you have to contest a revocable trust in Tennessee?

Within the earlier of two years after the settlor's death or 120 days after the trustee sent a copy of the trust and the notice described in 35-15-604(a).

What is the elective share in Tennessee?

Under 31-4-101(a), 10 percent of the net estate for a marriage of less than 3 years, 20 percent for 3 to under 6 years, 30 percent for 6 to under 9 years, and 40 percent for 9 years or more. The petition is due within nine months after death (31-4-102(a)(1)).