Last Will and Testament Template

Our free last will and testament form can assist you
in compiling a document or to structure a brief for your attorney.

The free legal will form supplied on this page may be suitable for married people with adult children.



envelope with specs



However, we have a wide variety of templates available that may be better suited for your particular circumstances:

As you peruse the templates, you'll find a variety of clauses on the last will samples provided, some of which you may want to incorporate in your document.

You also need to familiarize yourself or get legal advice regarding estate law in your jurisdiction. We've compiled some guidelines covering aspects such as probate, choosing an executor and the legal requirements for your Last Will and Testament.

Important Note
Please refer to our main page How to Write a Will for step-by-step guidelines and links to more free will forms.

Before you rush off to create your Last Will and Testament...

You may want to bequeath assets to an adult child who is insolvent and you would want to protect the inheritance from creditors until your child is a rehabilitated insolvent.

Or your child may be going through a divorce or is being adversely influenced by a third party.

Or you have a child serving a prison term or you need to make provision for a child with an intellectual or physical disability.

Etc.

If your aim is to protect your loved ones and their inheritance then you should consider creating a Testamentary Trust Will. (Follow the link to get detailed information and sample wording.)



Copyright Notice



LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT

of

____________________________________
(Full Legal Names)

____________________________________
(Identification / Social Security Number/s)

____________________________________

____________________________________
(Address)



1. Declaration

I hereby declare that this is my last will and testament and that I hereby revoke, cancel and annul all wills and codicils previously made by me either jointly or severally. I declare that I am of legal age to make this will and of sound mind and that this last will and testament expresses my wishes without undue influence or duress.

2. Family Details

I am married to _____________________________ hereinafter referred to as my spouse.

I have the following children:

Name: ______________________ Date of Birth _________

Name: ______________________ Date of Birth _________

Name: ______________________ Date of Birth _________

3. Appointment of Executors

3.1.    I hereby nominate, constitute and appoint _________________________ as Executor or if this Executor is unable or unwilling to serve then I appoint _______________________ as alternate Executor.

3.2.    I hereby give and grant the Executor all powers and authority as are required or allowed in law, and especially that of assumption.

3.3.    I hereby direct that my Executor shall not be required to furnish security and shall serve without any bond.

3.4.    Pending the distribution of my estate my Executor shall have authority to carry on any business, venture or partnership in which I may have any interest at the time of my death.

3.5.    My Executor shall have full and absolute power in his/her discretion to insure, repair, improve or to sell all or any assets of my estate, whether by public auction or private sale and shall be entitled to let any property in my estate on such terms and conditions as will be in the best interest of my beneficiaries.

3.6.    My Executor shall have authority to borrow money for any purpose connected with the liquidation and administration of my estate and to that end may encumber any of the assets of my estate.

3.7.    My Executor shall have authority to engage the services of attorneys, accountants and other advisors as he/she may deem necessary to assist with the execution of this last will and testament and to pay reasonable compensation for their services from my estate.

4. Beneficiary

I bequeath the whole of my estate, property and effects, whether movable or immovable, wheresoever situated and of whatsoever nature to my spouse ________________________.

5. Alternate Beneficiaries

    5.1.    Should my spouse not survive me by thirty (30) days I direct that the whole of my estate, property and effects, whether movable or immovable, wheresoever situated and of whatsoever nature be divided amongst my children named in 2. above in equal shares.

5.2.    I direct that the inheritance devolving upon any of my children under my last will and testament as well as the proceeds, the reinvestment of such proceeds and the income thereon shall be free from the legal effects of any present or future marriage of any of my children, whether in or out of community of property including any accrual system and with or without the presence of any pre-marital agreement.

5.3.    If any of my children are proved to be indebted to me by means of a legal instrument, then his / her share of my estate shall be reduced by the amount of such debt.

5.4.    Should any of my children not survive me and my spouse by 30 (thirty) days I direct that the whole of my estate, property and effects, whether movable or immovable, wheresoever situated and of whatsoever nature be divided in equal shares between my remaining surviving children.

6. Special Requests

I direct that on my death my remains shall be cremated and all cremation expenses shall be paid out of my estate.

OR

I direct that on my death my remains shall be buried at _______________________ and all funeral expenses shall be paid out of my estate.

7. General

7.1.    Words signifying one gender shall include the others and words signifying the singular shall include the plural and vice versa where appropriate.

7.2.    Should any provision of this will be judged by an appropriate court of law as invalid it shall not affect any of the remaining provisions whatsoever.



Signed on this _________________ day of _________________20_____

at this location _______________________________________ in the presence of the undersigned witnesses.

SIGNED: _______________________________



WITNESSES

As witnesses we declare that we are of sound mind and of legal age to witness a will and that to the best of our knowledge ____________________, the creator of this will, is of legal age to make a will, appears to be of sound mind and signed this will willingly and free of undue influence or duress. We declare that he / she signed this will in our presence as we then signed as witnesses in his / her presence and in the presence of each other witness, all being present at the same time.
Under penalty of perjury we declare these statements to be true and correct on this

________________ day of _________________ 20 __

at this location ________________________________.

Witness 1.

Name: ________________________________________

Address: ________________________________________

Signature: ________________________________________

Witness 2.

Name:________________________________________

Address: ________________________________________

Signature: ________________________________________



* * *

Use our printable last will and testament above as is, or follow the links below to download a fillable PDF or Word template.

PDF Download Text Document Download







Alternate / additional clauses that you can use in this
free Will and Testament template:

4. Beneficiary

I bequeath the whole of my estate, property and effects, whether movable or immovable, wheresoever situated and of whatsoever nature to my spouse and children named in 2. above in equal shares.

5. Alternate Beneficiaries

5.4.    Should any of my children not survive me and my spouse by 30 (thirty) days I direct that the non-surviving child's share goes to his / her natural, adopted or step children in equal shares.

5.5.    If my children cannot reach agreement within one year of this will coming into effect on how to divide the property bequeathed to them, the Executor shall liquidate all the property and divide the proceeds according to the shares as directed by me.

Bequests in a Will

You may want to make bequests to other persons or organizations not listed in our sample last will and testament. Have a look at one of our other forms (for a will without children) for sample wording.

Executor of a Last Will and Testament

Quite often married persons will appoint one another or an adult child as executor of a will. You could also appoint more than one child and direct that decisions can be made jointly and severally or must be made jointly only. Note though, decisions made jointly are not always the most expedient way to go.





How to Make a Codicil / Addendum to a Will

Life changes may give you reason to alter your last will and testament, for example:

teddy bear, money and gavel

  • Change the executor of your will;
  • Add or remove a beneficiary;
  • Add a bequest or remove a bequest because you do not own a particular asset anymore, etc.

Rather than making a new will, you may choose to execute a Codicil to Will.

We show you how to make a codicil and provide free codicil to will forms to help you draft your document.

Note: How to Provide for Online Accounts in a Last Will and Testament

Do you have digital accounts such as Facebook, Instagram, eMail, Twitter etc? You may want to leave instructions on how to securely close these accounts but you do not want the details to become public knowledge as part of your Will.

You can however make reference to the existence of a Social Media Will in your Last Will and Testament - we'll show you how.

Visit our EndExec page to register your email address and get advance notice when we launch our APP!

Disinheriting a Child or a Spouse

There are many and varied reasons why a testator may want to leave an adult child or spouse out of a will:

  • An antenuptial contract may make financial provision for a spouse
  • One adult child may be well-off and the estate assets may only be adequate to provide for another disabled child
  • There may be parents or siblings who are financially dependent on the testator or who are part of his household
    etc.

You need to know what your moral and legal obligations are to make provision for your children and/or spouse in your will.

Review our guidelines on Disinheritance and Contesting a Will and adding a no-contest clause to see what your options are.

Our free last will and testament is provided for informational purposes only. Professional advice should be sought to draft a will and to assist with estate planning, especially in the case of large estates.





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