Fillable Printable Sample Last Will and Testament Form

Sample Last Will and Testament Form

LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF

_______________________________________

[Name of Testator]

I, _______________________________________ [Name of Testator], a resident of

___________________, Texas, being of sound and disposing mind and memory and

over the age of eighteen (18) years or lawfully married or having been lawfully married or

a member of the armed forces of the United States or a member of an auxiliary of the

armed forces of the United States or a member of the maritime service of the United

States, and not being actuated by any duress, menace, fraud, mistake, or undue

influence, do make, publish, and declare this to be my last Will, hereby expressly

revoking all Wills and Codicils previously made by me.

I. MARRIAGE AND CHILDREN

I am married to _______________________________________, and all references in

this Will to my _________________ [husband or wife] are references to

_________________ [him or her]. I have the following children:

Name: ____________________________________ Date of Birth:

__________________

Name: ____________________________________ Date of Birth:

__________________

Name: ____________________________________ Date of Birth:

__________________

Name: ____________________________________ Date of Birth:

__________________

II. EXECUTOR: I appoint ____________________________________ as Executor of

this my Last Will and Testament and provide if this Executor is unable or unwilling to

serve then I appoint ____________________________________ as alternate Executor.

My Executor shall be authorized to carry out all provisions of this Will and pay my just

debts, obligations and funeral expenses.

III. SIMULTANEOUS DEATH OF SPOUSE: In the event that my _________________

[wife or husband] shall die simultaneously with me or there is no direct evidence to

establish that my _________________ [wife or husband] and I died other than

simultaneously, I direct that I shall be deemed to have survived my _________________

[wife or husband], notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, and that the

provisions of my Will shall be construed on such presumption.

IV. SIMULTANE OUS DEATH OF BENEFICIARY: If any beneficiary of this Will,

including any beneficiary of any trust established by this Will, other than my

_________________ [wife or husband], shall die within 30 days of my death or prior to

the distribution of my estate, I hereby declare that I shall be deemed to have survived

such person.

V. BEQUESTS:

I will, give, and bequeath unto the persons named below, if he or she survives me, the

Property described below:

Name: _____________________________________

Address: ___________________________________

Relationship: ________________________________

Property:

___________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

_____

______________________________________________________________________

_____

Name: _____________________________________

Address: ___________________________________

Relationship: ________________________________

Property:

___________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

_____

______________________________________________________________________

_____

Name: _____________________________________

Address: ___________________________________

Relationship: ________________________________

Property:

___________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

_____

______________________________________________________________________

_____

Name: _____________________________________

Address: ___________________________________

Relationship: ________________________________

Property:

___________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

_____

______________________________________________________________________

_____

If a named beneficiary to this Will predeceases me, the bequest to such person shall

lapse, and the property shall pass under the other provisions of this Will. If I do not

possess or own any property listed above on the date of my death, the bequest of that

property shall lapse.

VI. ALL REMAINI NG PROPERTY; RESIDUARY CLAUSE: I give, devise, and

bequeath all of the rest, residue, and remainder of my estate, of whatever kind and

character, and wherever located, to my _________________ [wife or husband],

provided that my _________________ [wife or husband] survives me. I make no

provision for my children, knowing that, as their parent, my _________________ [wife or

husband] will continue to be mindful of their needs and requirements. If my

_________________ [wife or husband] does not survive me, then I give, devise, and

bequeath all of the rest, residue, and remainder of my estate, of whatever kind and

character, and wherever located, to my children per share, but if any child predeceases

me, then his or her share will pass, per share, to his or her lineal descendants, natural or

adopted, if any, who survive me; but if there are none, then his or her share will lapse

and pass equally as part of the shares of my other named children; but if none of my

named children survives me or leaves a lineal descendant who survives me, then

according to the order of intestate succession in the State of Texas.

VII. ADDITIONAL POWERS OF THE EXECUTOR: My Executor shall have the

following additional powers with respect to my es tate, to be exercised from time to time

at my Executor's discretion without further license or order of any court.

______________________________________________________________________

_____

______________________________________________________________________

_____

______________________________________________________________________

_____

______________________________________________________________________

_____

VIII. WAIVER OF BOND, INVENTORY, ACCOUNTING, REPORTING AND

APPROVAL: My Executor and alternate Executor shall serve without any bond, and I

hereby waive the necessity of preparing or filing any inventory, accounting, appraisal,

reporting, approvals or final appraisement of my estate. I direct that no expert appraisal

be made of my estate unless required by law.

IX. OPTIONAL PROVISIONS: I have placed my initials next to the provisions below

that I adopt as part of this Will. Any unmarked provision is not adopted by me and is not

a part of this Will.

________ If any beneficiary to this Will is indebted to me at the time of my death, and the

beneficiary evidences this debt by a valid Promissory Note payable to me, then such

person's portion of my estate shall be diminished by the amou nt of such debt.

________ Any and all debts of my estate shall first be paid from my residuary estate. Any debts

on any real property beq ueathed in this Will shall be assume d by the person to receive

such real property and not paid by my Executor.

________ I direct that my remains be cremated and that the ashes be disposed of according to

the wishes of my Executor.

________ I direct that my remains be cremated and that the ashes be dispose d of in the following

manner:

__________________________________________________________________

________ I desire to be buried in the _______________ ______________ cemetery in

___________ ____ ___ Cou nty, Texas.

X. CONSTRUCTION: The term "testator" as used in this Will is deemed to include me

as Testator or Testatrix. The pronouns used in this Will shall include, where appropriate,

either gender or both, singular and plural.

XI. SEVERABILITY AND SURVIVAL: If any part of this Will is declared invalid,

illegal, or inoperative for any reason, it is my intent that the remaining parts shall be

effective and fully operative, and that any Court so interpreting this Will and any

provision in it construe in favor of survival.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I, _______________________________________ [Name of

Testator], hereby set my hand to this last Will, on each page of which I have placed my

initials, on this ________ day of ____________________, 20______ at

_____________________________________________________________, State of

Texas.

_______________________________________ [Signature]

_______________________________________ [Printed or typed name of Testator]

_______________________________________ [Address of Testator, Line 1]

_______________________________________ [Address of Testator, Line 2]

WITNESSES

The foregoing instrument, consisting of ________ pages, including this page, was

signed in our presence by _______________________________________ [name of

Testator] and declared by _________________ [him or her] to be _________________

[his or her] last Will. We, at the request and in the presence of _________________

[him or her] and in the presence of each other, have subscribed our names below as

witnesses. We declare that we are of sound mind and of the proper age to witness a

will, that to the best of our knowledge the testator is of the age of majority, or is

otherwise legally competent to make a will, and appears of sound mind and under no

undue influence or constraint. Under penalty of perjury, we declare these statements

are true and correct on this ________ day of ____________________, 20______ at

_____________________________________________________________, State of

Texas.

_______________________________________ [Signature of Witness #1]

_______________________________________ [Printed or typed name of Witness #1]

_______________________________________ [Address of Witness #1, Line 1]

_______________________________________ [Address of Witness #1, Line 2]

_______________________________________ [Signature of Witness #2]

_______________________________________ [Printed or typed name of Witness #2]

_______________________________________ [Address of Witness #2, Line 1]

_______________________________________ [Address of Witness #2, Line 2]

_______________________________________ [Signature of Witness #3]

_______________________________________ [Printed or typed name of Witness #3]

_______________________________________ [Address of Witness #3, Line 1]

_______________________________________ [Address of Witness #3, Line 2]

- - - - Optional Self-Proving Affidavit Form - - - -

(Note: The grey box below is not a part of the Affidavit and is included for informational purposes only. You should not include it

as part of the Affi d avit.)

About this Self-Provi ng Affidavit Form: Although a Self-Proving Affidavit is not a requirement

in the State of Texas, it is an excellent idea to sign one when executing a Will. It can greatly

reduce the dif f iculty associated with probating the Will when the time comes. The testato r, along

with two witnesses, must sign the Affidavit together in the presen ce of a notary public. The

Affidavit is then attached to the Will. Its basic purpose is to affirm that the Will is that of the

testator and that the will was signed and witnessed in accordan ce with all applicable state

requirements.

To make a self-proving Will, a testator should follow this procedure: (1) The testator should

sign the Will in the presence of the witnesses and hav e the witnesses sign as well; (2) A notary

public should be present at the time the Will is signed by the testator, together with all the

witnesses; (3) The testator should provide the blank Self-Proving Affidavit form below to the

notary public, or the testator should consult with the notary public to determine if a different Self-

Proving Affidavit form is recommended; (4) The testator and witnesses should complete the Self-

Proving Affidavit form in the presence of the notary public. The notary public will require the

testator and witnesses to swear to the Self-Proving Affidavit's truth and may require that photo

identification is presented; (5) Once completed, the Self-Proving Affidavit should be stapl ed to the

Will.

SELF-PROVING AFFIDAVIT

THE STATE OF TEXAS

COUNTY OF ________________

Before me, the undersigned authority, on this day personally appeared

______________________________________________________________,

______________________________________________________________, and

______________________________________________________________, known to

me to be the testator and the witnesses, respectively, whose names are subscribed to

the annexed or foregoing instrument in their respective capacities, and, all of said

persons being by me duly sworn, the said

______________________________________________________________, testator,

declared to me and to the said witnesses in my presence that said instrument is his last

will and testament, and that he had willingly made and executed it as his free act and

deed; and the said witnesses, each on his oath stated to me, in the presence and

hearing of the said testator, that the said testator had declared to them that said

instrument is his last will and testament, and that he executed same as such and wanted

each of them to sign it as a witness; and upon their oaths each witness stated further

that they did sign the same as witnesses in the presence of the said testator and at his

request; that he was at that time eighteen years of age or over (or being under such age,

was or had been lawfully married, or was then a member of the armed forces of the

United States or of an auxiliary thereof or of the Maritime Service) and was of sound

mind; and that each of said witnesses was then at least fourteen years of age.

_______________________________________ [Signature of Testator]