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

In Texas, a will must be in writing, signed by the testator (or by another person in the testator's presence and under the testator's direction), 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). A notary is not part of that rule, and a will written wholly in the testator's handwriting does not need witnesses at all (§ 251.052). An optional self-proving affidavit, made before an officer authorized to administer oaths, lets the will be admitted to probate without testimony from the witnesses (§§ 251.102, 251.104).

Living trusts are governed by the Texas Trust Code (Property Code Title 9, Subtitle B), not the Uniform Trust Code. A Texas trust is revocable unless its terms make it irrevocable, and a trust created by a written instrument can be revoked or amended only in writing (Tex. Prop. Code § 112.051). This page is part of our wills and trusts laws by state series.

Information last verified on 2026-10-19. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers Texas statutes on making, signing, self-proving, depositing, changing and revoking wills (Estates Code chapters 123 and 251 to 255) and on creating, amending and revoking revocable living trusts (the Texas Trust Code, Property Code chapters 111 to 115). It does not cover what happens when someone dies without a will or how probate works (see Texas probate), small-estate procedures (see the Texas small estate affidavit), powers of attorney (see Texas power of attorney laws), or taxes. A "living will" is a health-care directive, not a will; see the Texas advance directive generator.

What makes a will valid in Texas

Who can make a will

Section 251.001 gives the power to make a will to "a person of sound mind" who, at the time the will is made:

"(1) is 18 years of age or older; (2) is or has been married; or (3) is a member of the armed forces of the United States, an auxiliary of the armed forces of the United States, or the United States Maritime Service."

The three conditions are alternatives. A 17-year-old who is or has been married, or who serves in the armed forces, meets the age part of the rule; sound mind is required in every case. Section 251.002(b) adds that a person who makes a will may "disinherit an heir" and direct the disposition of property passing under the will or by intestacy.

The signing rule

Section 251.051 is the core requirement. "Except as otherwise provided by law," a will must be:

"(1) in writing; (2) signed by: (A) the testator in person; or (B) another person on behalf of the testator: (i) in the testator's presence; and (ii) under the testator's direction; and (3) attested by two or more credible witnesses who are at least 14 years of age and who subscribe their names to the will in their own handwriting in the testator's presence."

Four details in that text are easy to miss:

• Age of witnesses. Witnesses must be at least 14, not 18.
• Handwritten signatures. Each witness signs "in their own handwriting."
• Presence of the testator. The witnesses must sign in the testator's presence. Section 251.051 does not say the witnesses must sign in each other's presence, although the combined self-proving form in section 251.1045 recites that the witnesses are "all of whom are present at the same time" and asks them to sign "in my presence and in the presence of each other."
• No notary. Notarization is not one of the three requirements.

Can a beneficiary witness a Texas will?

A beneficiary can sign as a witness, but the gift is at risk. Under section 254.002(a), if a devisee is also a subscribing witness "and the will cannot be otherwise established," the bequest is void and the witness can be compelled to testify as if the bequest had not been made.

Two rules soften that result. If the witness would have inherited from the testator without a will, the witness keeps "as much of that share as does not exceed the value of the bequest" (§ 254.002(b)). And the bequest is not void if the witness's testimony proving the will "is corroborated by at least one disinterested and credible person who testifies that the subscribing witness's testimony is true and correct" (§ 254.002(c)).

Gifts to the lawyer who drafted the will

Section 254.003(a) makes a devise void if it is made to an attorney who prepares or supervises the preparation of the will, to a parent, descendant of a parent, or employee of that attorney, or to the spouse of any of those people. The rule does not apply to a devisee who is the testator's spouse, an ascendant or descendant of the testator, or related to the testator within the third degree by consanguinity or affinity, or to a bona fide purchaser for value from a devisee (§ 254.003(b)).

Wills signed in another state or country

A written will does not have to meet section 251.051 if it was executed in compliance with the law of the state or foreign country where it was signed, as that law stood at the time, or the law of the state or country where the testator was domiciled or had a place of residence, as that law stood when the will was signed or when the testator died (§ 251.053). Federal law also gives effect to a military testamentary instrument prepared for a person eligible for military legal assistance, exempting it from state requirements of form (10 U.S.C. § 1044d(a)); the wills and trusts hub covers that federal rule.

Does a will need to be notarized in Texas? The self-proving affidavit

A Texas will does not need to be notarized to be valid; section 251.051 does not ask for it. What Texas offers instead is the self-proved will, which saves a step at probate.

Under section 251.102(a), "a self-proved will may be admitted to probate without the testimony of any subscribing witnesses" if the testator and witnesses execute a self-proving affidavit, or if the will is executed, attested and made self-proved all at once under section 251.1045. Section 251.102(b) adds that a self-proved will "may not otherwise be treated differently than a will that is not self-proved."

The affidavit has its own formalities in section 251.104:

• it "must be made by the testator and by the attesting witnesses before an officer authorized to administer oaths," and the officer "shall affix the officer's official seal" (§ 251.104(b));
• it must be attached or annexed to the will (§ 251.104(c)); and
• an affidavit in substantial compliance with the statutory form in section 251.104(e), subscribed and acknowledged by the testator and subscribed and sworn to by the witnesses, is sufficient (§ 251.104(d)).

There are two ways to do it. The separate affidavit can be signed when the will is signed or "a later date during the lifetime of the testator and the witnesses" (§ 251.103). Alternatively, section 251.1045 lets a will be "simultaneously executed, attested, and made self-proved before an officer authorized to administer oaths" by including language in substantially the form the section sets out. This page does not reproduce either statutory form; they appear in sections 251.104(e) and 251.1045(a).

Is a handwritten (holographic) will valid in Texas?

Yes. Section 251.052 provides that, "notwithstanding Section 251.051, a will written wholly in the testator's handwriting is not required to be attested by subscribing witnesses."

The key word is "wholly." The exception covers a will written entirely in the testator's own hand. A will that is typed or printed and only signed by hand falls back under section 251.051 and needs two witnesses. Section 251.052 lifts only the requirement of attesting witnesses; it does not mention the other requirements of section 251.051.

A holographic will can also be self-proved. Section 251.107 allows it "at any time during the testator's lifetime" by attaching an affidavit by the testator stating that the instrument is the testator's will, that the testator met the age rule (18 or older, or younger but married or in the armed forces, an auxiliary, or the Maritime Service), that the testator was of sound mind, and that the testator has not revoked the will.

Are oral (nuncupative) wills valid in Texas?

No. Section 251.051 requires a will to be "in writing" except as otherwise provided by law. The only exceptions in Estates Code chapters 251 to 255 are the holographic rule in section 251.052 (which still involves a written will) and the out-of-state execution rule in section 251.053 (which applies only to "a written will"). Those chapters contain no provision for an oral will.

Can a Texas will be signed electronically or witnessed remotely?

Estates Code chapter 251, which governs will execution, contains no provision for electronic wills or for remote witnessing of a will. Section 251.051 requires witnesses who "subscribe their names to the will in their own handwriting in the testator's presence," and the self-proving forms recite that the witnesses sign in the presence of the testator.

What if a Texas will was not signed correctly?

Texas has no harmless-error rule in its will-execution chapter. The routes to a valid will in chapter 251 are the attested will under section 251.051, the holographic will under section 251.052, and the out-of-state execution rule in section 251.053. The chapter contains no provision that lets a court treat a defectively signed or witnessed will as valid on proof of the testator's intent. One narrower rule applies: a signature on a self-proving affidavit is considered a signature to the will if necessary to prove that the testator or witnesses signed it, but the will is then not considered a self-proved will (§ 251.105).

Changing or revoking a Texas will

How a will is revoked

Section 253.002 is strict about method:

"A written will, or a clause or devise in a written will, may not be revoked, except by a subsequent will, codicil, or declaration in writing that is executed with like formalities, or by the testator destroying or canceling the same, or causing it to be destroyed or canceled in the testator's presence."

Two consequences follow from the text. A written revocation must be "executed with like formalities," so an informal note that lacks the formalities of a will does not revoke it under this section. And a physical revocation by someone other than the testator counts only if it happens "in the testator's presence."

Section 253.001(b) protects the testator's freedom to change the plan: a court "may not prohibit a person from" executing a new will, executing a codicil, or revoking an existing will or codicil in whole or in part.

A contract to make a will or devise, or not to revoke one, entered into on or after September 1, 1979, may be established only by a binding and enforceable written agreement or by a will stating that the contract exists and its material provisions. Signing a joint will or reciprocal wills does not, standing alone, constitute sufficient evidence of such a contract (§ 254.004).

Does divorce revoke a will in Texas?

Divorce does not revoke the whole will, but it removes the former spouse from it. Under section 123.001(b), if the marriage is dissolved by divorce, annulment, or a declaration that the marriage is void after the testator makes the will, then unless the will expressly provides otherwise:

• all provisions of the will, "including all fiduciary appointments, shall be read as if the former spouse and each relative of the former spouse who is not a relative of the testator had failed to survive the testator"; and
• provisions leaving property to an irrevocable trust in which the former spouse or such a relative is a beneficiary are read to leave the property to a substitute trust with identical terms, except for the provisions the section specifies. That substitute-trust rule does not apply if a court order or an express provision of a contract dividing the marital estate provides otherwise (§ 123.001(c)).

The same rule reaches revocable trusts. Under section 123.052(a), the dissolution of the marriage revokes provisions in a trust instrument the divorced settlor signed before the divorce that revocably give property to the former spouse or the former spouse's relatives who are not the settlor's relatives, revocably give the former spouse a power of appointment, or revocably nominate the former spouse to serve as a personal representative, trustee, conservator, agent, guardian or other fiduciary. That does not apply if a court order, the express terms of the trust instrument signed before the divorce, or an express provision of a contract relating to the division of the marital estate provides otherwise (§ 123.052(b)).

Beneficiary designations are covered by separate sections, which section 123.052(c) points to. Under Family Code sections 9.301 and 9.302, if a decree of divorce or annulment is rendered after a person designated the spouse as beneficiary of a life insurance policy, or of an individual retirement account, employee stock option plan, stock option, or other savings, bonus, profit-sharing, employer or financial plan, in force when the decree is rendered, the designation of the former spouse is not effective unless the decree designates the former spouse as beneficiary, the former spouse is redesignated after the decree, or the former spouse is designated to receive the proceeds in trust for, on behalf of, or for the benefit of a child or dependent of either former spouse. Section 9.302 does not apply to a plan of a public retirement system (§ 9.302(e)). Estates Code section 123.151 applies a similar rule to P.O.D. and survivorship designations on multiple-party accounts in favor of the former spouse or the former spouse's relatives who are not the decedent's relatives.

Federal law can override these state rules for some plans: for employer benefit plans governed by the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), the U.S. Supreme Court held in Egelhoff v. Egelhoff, 532 U.S. 141 (2001), that ERISA pre-empts a state statute revoking a spouse's beneficiary designation on divorce as applied to those plans. The wills and trusts hub covers that federal rule.

If a family member named in the will dies first

Section 255.153(a) provides a substitute gift in one situation. If a devisee who is a descendant of the testator or a descendant of the testator's parent is dead when the will is signed, fails to survive the testator, or is treated as having died first, "the descendants of the devisee who survived the testator by 120 hours take the devised property in place of the devisee." This applies unless the will provides otherwise; a devise "to my surviving children," for example, prevents it (§ 255.151).

Can you leave out a spouse or child in Texas?

Texas gives a testator broad freedom: section 251.002(b) lets a person making a will "disinherit an heir." Several rules still limit what a will can do.

• Community property. Texas is a community property state. Under Family Code section 3.002, "community property consists of the property, other than separate property, acquired by either spouse during marriage," and section 3.003 presumes property possessed by either spouse during marriage to be community property, with separate property proved by clear and convincing evidence.
• No elective share in the will chapters. Estates Code chapter 101 and chapters 251 to 255 contain no elective-share section giving a surviving spouse a fixed fraction of the estate in place of the will. Rights a surviving spouse may have outside the will, and what happens to property a will does not reach, are covered on our Texas probate and Texas homestead exemption pages.
• Children born or adopted after the will. A "pretermitted child" is a child born or adopted after the will was signed, whether during the testator's lifetime or after death (§ 255.051). The shares in sections 255.053 and 255.054 apply only to a pretermitted child who is not "(1) mentioned in the testator's will; (2) provided for in the testator's will; or (3) otherwise provided for by the testator" (§ 255.052(a)). If the child's other parent is not the testator's surviving spouse, the child's share "may not reduce the portion of the testator's estate passing to the testator's surviving spouse by more than one-half" (§ 255.056).
• Forfeiture (no-contest) clauses. A will provision that forfeits a gift for bringing a court action, including a will contest, is enforceable unless the person who sued shows by a preponderance of the evidence that "just cause existed for bringing the action" and that "the action was brought and maintained in good faith" (§ 254.005(a)). Property Code section 112.038(a) applies the same test to a forfeiture clause in a trust. Both sections state that they do not repeal the rule that forfeiture clauses generally will not be construed to prevent a beneficiary from seeking to compel a fiduciary to perform its duties, seeking redress for a fiduciary's breach, or seeking a judicial construction of a will or trust (§ 254.005(b); Prop. Code § 112.038(b)).

How does a revocable living trust work in Texas?

Texas trusts are governed by the Texas Trust Code. Section 111.001 provides that the subtitle "may be cited as the Texas Trust Code"; it is Texas's own statute, not the Uniform Trust Code. The Trust Code applies to trusts created on or after January 1, 1984, and to transactions on or after that date relating to trusts created earlier (§ 111.006).

Creating the trust

Section 112.001 lists the ways a trust may be created, including "a property owner's declaration that the owner holds the property as trustee for another person" and "a property owner's inter vivos transfer of the property to another person as trustee for the transferor or a third person." A trust is created only if the settlor manifests an intention to create one (§ 112.002), and it cannot be created without trust property (§ 112.005). The capacity rule is borrowed from transfers and wills: a person "has the same capacity to create a trust" by declaration, transfer or appointment "that the person has to transfer, will, or appoint free of trust" (§ 112.007).

The writing requirement

Texas requires a signed writing for most trusts, not only trusts of land. Section 112.004 provides:

"A trust in either real or personal property is enforceable only if there is written evidence of the trust's terms bearing the signature of the settlor or the settlor's authorized agent."

The section then allows a trust of personal property to be enforced without that writing in two cases: a transfer to a trustee who is neither the settlor nor a beneficiary, if the transferor expresses the intention to create a trust at or before the transfer; or a declaration in writing by the owner that the owner holds the property as trustee for another person, or for the owner and another person as beneficiary. Sections 112.001 to 112.011 add no witness or notary requirement to the settlor's signed writing.

Keeping control: reserved powers

A living trust lets the settlor keep control during life. Section 112.033 provides that a trust is "not invalid as an attempted testamentary disposition merely because the settlor reserves or retains" interests or powers such as "a beneficial life interest for himself" or "the power to revoke, modify, or terminate the trust in whole or in part."

Revocable unless the trust says otherwise

Section 112.051 sets the default and the method:

"(a) A settlor may revoke the trust unless it is irrevocable by the express terms of the instrument creating it or of an instrument modifying it. (b) The settlor may modify or amend a trust that is revocable, but the settlor may not enlarge the duties of the trustee without the trustee's express consent. (c) If the trust was created by a written instrument, a revocation, modification, or amendment of the trust must be in writing."

So a written living trust cannot be changed by a phone call or an oral instruction to the trustee. Any revocation, modification or amendment of a trust created by a written instrument has to be in writing, and an amendment cannot add to the trustee's duties without the trustee's express consent.

When the settlor dies

Unless the trust terms provide otherwise, Property Code section 112.0335(a) applies Estates Code chapter 255, the will-construction chapter, at the settlor's death to the construction and interpretation of at-death transfers from a trust that the settlor (or the settlor and the settlor's spouse) could amend or revoke, "as if the settlor of the trust is the testator."

The Texas Trust Code chapters (111 to 115) contain no special post-death period for contesting a revocable trust and no post-death trustee notice requirement of the kind found in the Uniform Trust Code's model sections 604 and 813. General limitations statutes outside the Trust Code are not covered on this page.

Certification of trust

Instead of handing over a copy of the trust instrument to someone other than a beneficiary, a trustee may provide a certification of trust (Prop. Code § 114.086(a)). It includes a statement that the trust exists and the date the instrument was executed, the identity of the settlor, the identity and mailing address of the currently acting trustee, and "the revocability or irrevocability of the trust and the identity of any person holding a power to revoke the trust," among other items. It must state that the trust has not been revoked, modified or amended in a way that would make its representations incorrect (§ 114.086(c)). A person who relies on it without knowing the representations are incorrect is not liable for doing so (§ 114.086(f)).

What is a pour-over will in Texas?

Section 254.001(a) allows a testator to devise property "to the trustee of a trust established or to be established" either during the testator's lifetime (by the testator, the testator and another person, or another person) or at the testator's death by the devise itself. For a trust established at death by the devise, whatever the existence, size or character of its property, the trust must be identified in the will and its terms must be in a written instrument other than a will "executed before, with, or after the execution of the testator's will," or in the will of another person who died before the testator.

Under section 254.001(b), the devise "is not invalid because the trust: (1) is amendable or revocable; or (2) was amended after the execution of the will or the testator's death." Unless the will provides otherwise, revoking or terminating the trust before the testator's death causes the devise to lapse (§ 254.001(d)).

Keeping and delivering the original will

A testator, or another person for the testator, may deposit the will with the county clerk of the county where the testator lives, and the clerk keeps it on payment of a $5 fee (§ 252.001). The deposit is "solely for the purpose of providing a safe and convenient repository for a will"; for probate, a deposited will "may not be treated differently than a will that has not been deposited" (§ 252.151).

After a death, "on receiving notice of a testator's death, the person who has custody of the testator's will shall deliver the will to the clerk of the court that has jurisdiction of the testator's estate" (§ 252.201(a)). A person who refuses to deliver the will is liable to anyone harmed by the refusal "for all damages sustained as a result of the refusal" (§ 252.204(a)). On a sworn written complaint, the court must have the custodian cited to appear and show cause, and if the person does not deliver the will or show good cause, the judge may have the person arrested and confined until the will is delivered (§§ 252.202, 252.203). Destroying, concealing or altering another person's will with intent to defraud or harm another is a state jail felony (Penal Code § 32.47(a), (d)(1)).

Texas wills and trusts at a glance

Recent changes

• 2023: Section 251.053, the rule for wills executed under another state's or country's law, was amended by Acts 2023, 88th Leg., ch. 205 (S.B. 1373), effective September 1, 2023.
• 2017: Sections 251.001 (who may make a will), 251.051 (requirements of a will), 251.103 (when a will may be made self-proved), 251.104 (the self-proving affidavit) and 251.107 (self-proving a holographic will) were amended by Acts 2017, 85th Leg., effective September 1, 2017.
• 2015: Section 254.005, on forfeiture clauses in wills, was amended effective September 1, 2015.

Making a will in practice

Our free Texas will generator can help draft a basic will. Whatever tool or form is used, the document still has to be signed and witnessed under section 251.051, or written wholly in the testator's handwriting under section 251.052, to be valid. Complex estates, blended families, business interests or tax concerns are reasons people consult a lawyer licensed in Texas.

Related

• Wills and trusts laws by state
• Texas probate
• Texas small estate affidavit
• Texas power of attorney laws
• Texas homestead exemption

This article provides general legal information about Texas law on wills and revocable trusts as of 2026-10-19. It is not legal advice. For advice about a specific situation, contact a lawyer licensed in Texas or the clerk of the court handling the estate.

Last updated: 2026-10-19.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many witnesses does a will need in Texas?

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 (Estates Code section 251.051). A will written wholly in the testator's handwriting needs no witnesses (section 251.052).

Does a will have to be notarized in Texas?

No. Section 251.051 does not require notarization. An optional self-proving affidavit, signed by the testator and witnesses before an officer authorized to administer oaths who affixes an official seal, lets the will be admitted to probate without the witnesses' testimony (sections 251.102 and 251.104).

Is a handwritten will legal in Texas?

A will written wholly in the testator's handwriting does not need subscribing witnesses (section 251.052); that exception lifts only the witness requirement of section 251.051. A typed will that is only signed by hand still needs two witnesses under section 251.051. A holographic will can be self-proved during the testator's lifetime with the testator's affidavit under section 251.107.

Can a 17-year-old make a will in Texas?

Only if the person is of sound mind and is or has been married, or is a member of the U.S. armed forces, an auxiliary of the armed forces, or the U.S. Maritime Service (Estates Code section 251.001). Otherwise the minimum age is 18.

Can a beneficiary witness a will in Texas?

If the will cannot otherwise be established, the gift to a beneficiary who witnessed it is void, though the witness can keep up to the share he or she would have inherited without a will. The gift is not void if one disinterested and credible person corroborates the witness's testimony (section 254.002).

Are electronic wills valid in Texas?

Estates Code chapter 251 contains no provision for electronic wills or remote witnessing. Section 251.051 requires witnesses to sign in their own handwriting in the testator's presence.

How do you revoke a will in Texas?

Under section 253.002, by a later will, codicil or written declaration executed with the same formalities as a will, or by the testator destroying or canceling the will, or having it destroyed or canceled in the testator's presence.

Does divorce revoke a will in Texas?

Not the whole will. Unless the will expressly provides otherwise, if the marriage ends by divorce, annulment or a declaration that the marriage is void after the will is made, the will is read as if the former spouse and the former spouse's relatives who are not the testator's relatives died before the testator (section 123.001(b)). Section 123.052 applies a similar rule to revocable provisions for the former spouse in a trust instrument signed before the divorce, unless a court order, the express terms of that trust instrument, or a contract dividing the marital estate provides otherwise. Separately, a designation of the spouse as beneficiary of a life insurance policy, or of an individual retirement account or other savings, profit-sharing or employer plan, that is in force when a later divorce or annulment decree is rendered is not effective unless the decree designates the former spouse, the former spouse is redesignated after the decree, or the former spouse takes in trust for a child or dependent of either former spouse (Fam. Code §§ 9.301, 9.302). The plan rule does not apply to a plan of a public retirement system (§ 9.302(e)). For employer benefit plans governed by the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), the U.S. Supreme Court held in Egelhoff v. Egelhoff, 532 U.S. 141 (2001), that federal law pre-empts such a state statute as applied to those plans.

Is a living trust revocable in Texas?

Yes, unless the instrument creating or modifying it makes it irrevocable by its express terms (Property Code section 112.051(a)). If the trust was created by a written instrument, any revocation, modification or amendment must also be in writing (section 112.051(c)).

Does a Texas living trust have to be in writing?

Generally yes. A trust in real or personal property is enforceable only with written evidence of its terms signed by the settlor or the settlor's authorized agent, with two narrow exceptions for trusts of personal property (Property Code section 112.004).