Free Last Will and Testament

You can use this free Last Will and Testament template to assist you
in compiling a document that will suit your requirements.

Note: Reading through the other sample wills will also show you alternative provisions not specifically mentioned on this page, which you may want to incorporate in your document.

Typed Will and Testament

The free legal will form supplied on this page may be suitable for a single person, widow or widower or divorcee with adult children.

Alternatively one of the following printable free will forms may be more suitable for you:

Will and Testament - For married people with adult children
Last Will and Testament Form - For married people with adult and minor children
Will and Testament Form - For married people without children
Legal Will - For a single person without children
Free Will Form - For married people with minor children

All of the above can be downloaded as fill-in-the-blanks PDF | Word last will and testament templates.

Please Note:
It is important to familiarize yourself with the guidelines on our main page How to Write a Will where different aspects of wills are explained that can assist you in formatting various clauses or to complete your last will and testament.

You will also find links to other free legal will forms which may suit your requirements better, especially if you have minor children to make provision for.

Making Special Provision in a Last Will for Dependents

If you have a family member that will need assistance to administer his/her inheritance, e.g. someone with diminished capacity, or a substance dependency or a member who may squander an inheritance, you may want to consider creating a Testamentary Trust.

You will find more information on our pages dealing with Family Wills with Trust Structures

Free Last Will and Testament Form:

LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT

____________________________________
(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 have the following children:

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 Executors shall not be required to furnish security and shall serve without any bond.

3.4. Pending the distribution of my estate my Executors 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 Executors 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 Executors 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 Executors 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. Bequests

4.1. I bequeath unto the persons named below, if he or she survives me by 30 (thirty) days, the following property:

    Name:____________________________________________
    Relationship:_______________________________________
    Address:__________________________________________
    Property:__________________________________________

4.2. If at the time of my death any of the property described in 4.1. above is no longer in my possession or part of my estate, then the bequest of such property shall be deemed null and void and shall no longer form part of this will and testament.

4.3. If any of the persons named in 4.1. above do not survive me by 30 (thirty) days, the property bequeathed to such a person shall become part of the remainder of my estate.

5. Remaining Property and Residual Estate

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

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 by 30 (thirty) days I direct that the remainder 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.

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 free will form above as is, or follow the links below to download a fillable PDF or Word template.

Alternate clauses that you can use in this
free last will and testament template:

4.3. If any of the persons named in 4.1. above do not survive me by 30 (thirty) days, the property bequeathed to such a person shall pass to his / her descendents in equal shares.

5.4. Should any of my children not survive me 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 my death on how to divide the property bequeathed to them, the Executor shall in his/her sole discretion decide on how to divide the property as per the shares directed by me or shall liquidate all the property and divide the proceeds according to the shares as directed by me.

This is a simple will making provision for some bequests and thereafter the remainder of the estate is divided equally amongst the testator's children.

However, you could bequeath a specific property (such as a house which you'd prefer to keep in the family) to one child and then the remainder of your estate to the remaining child / children. The most important part is to be very clear in your wording so as to minimize disputes in the interpretation of your will.

Provision for Executor's Fees in a Last Will and Testament

If you appoint en executor who is not a beneficiary of your estate, it is reasonable to compensate such an executor for his / her services. Discuss and negotiate the fee with your chosen executor and alternate and consider adding the following to your free last will and testament form:

3.8. My Executors shall be entitled to compensation at a rate of _____% (________________per cent) of the total value of my estate but in any event in an amount not less than $_______ (________________dollars).

Addendum to a Will | Codicil to Will

You can execute a Codicil to Will to make simple changes to your existing will such as:

Adding or changing a bequest;
Removing or changing a beneficiary;
Changing an executor because your appointed executor is no longer willing or able to fulfil this duty, etc.

Note also, that should you have assets located in a foreign country, it will be better to make a separate foreign will for those assets and to specify in each document the location of the property referred to.

Our Free Legal Forms page also provides links to all our pages that can assist you with a living will, power of attorney and more.

Disinheriting a Child and Contesting a Will

In some jurisdictions you have testamentary freedom and should you choose to, you could disinherit your child.

In another territory the court may consider whether you fulfilled your legal or moral duty to make provision for your child and may well amend your will should a disinherited child bring a claim against the estate.

It is always considered prudent to state your reasons for disinheriting the child but it is advisable not to do so in your will, but rather in a separate statement.

Simply omitting reference to your child may be seen as an unintentional error on your part and the will may be declared invalid.

You must name all your children and then specifically state: "I make no provision for my son Joe..."

There are various ways to go about disinheriting your child and furthermore, to avoid having your will contested wherever possible. Adding a no-contest clause to your will is one you need to consider!

We provide guidelines on Disinheritance as well as the ins-and-outs of Contesting a Will.

Making a Social Media Will

So many of us have digital accounts such as Facebook, Instagram, eMail, Twitter etc. You would not want your logins or details to become public knowledge (as is the case with a Last Will).

Take a look at our Social Media Will template where you can leave detailed instructions to your executor on how you want your accounts to be finalised when you pass away.

Incidentally, your appointed executor for your online accounts (perhaps your internet-savvy child) need not be the same person as the one appointed in your Will.

Our free last will and testament is provided for informational purposes only and to assist you with providing a brief to your legal counsel or professional estate planner.

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Free Last Will and Testament

Making Special Provision in a Last Will for Dependents