Free Last Will and Testament Form

The free last will and testament form supplied on this page,
makes provision for married people with adult AND minor children.

It may therefore also be suitable for people who find themselves in a second marriage, with minor children as well as adult children from a previous marriage or relationship, that they wish to list as beneficiaries in their last will and testament.

sign here

However, if you have a different family situation then one of the following templates may be better suited for your particular circumstances:

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

Important Note:

Please refer to our page on How to Write a Will for links to other free legal will forms such as a Codicil to Will and where we also provide guidelines on witnesses, probate, choosing an executor and guardian and links to a Living Will.

But Before You Get Started with Your Free Last Will and Testament Form...

You may be making provision for a minor child in your will. But children cannot legally own property until they reach maturity.

Or you may want to bequeath an inheritance to an adult child but you have concerns that he/she may squander the inheritance. Or the child may lack capacity to administer the assets, or may have a substance dependency.

However - there is a very useful structure i.e. a Testamentary Trust which you can create within your will that can offer protection for an inheritance after you pass away. You will still fully control all your assets, since this trust will only come into being upon your passing.

The following pages provide detailed information:

Family Wills and Example of Distribution of Assets

Testamentary Trust Timeline and Trustee Information

How to Create a Testamentary Trust Will

Free Last Will and Testament Form:

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 adult children:

Name: ______________________ Date of Birth _________

I have the following minor 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 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 may be acceptable to 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.

4. Guardian

4.1. Failing the survival of my spouse as natural guardian I appoint _____________________ or failing him / her I appoint ______________________ to be the legal Guardian of my minor children named: __________________________ and __________________________ until such time as they attain the age of _____________ years.

4.2. I direct that my nominated Guardian shall not be required to furnish security for acting in that capacity.

5. Bequests to my Adult Children

5.1. I bequeath to my adult child named ________________, if he or she survives me by 30 (thirty) days, the following:

______________________________________________________

5.2. I bequeath to my adult child named ________________, if he or she survives me by 30 (thirty) days, the following:

______________________________________________________

5.3. I direct that the inheritance devolving upon any of my adult children named above 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.

5.4. Should any of my adult children named above not survive me by 30 (thirty) days, I direct that the bequest(s) made to him or her shall go to his/her natural, adopted or step children in equal shares.

6. Remaining Property and Residual Estate

Save for the bequests listed in 5.1. and 5.2. above I bequeath the remainder of my estate, property and effects, whether movable or immovable, wheresoever situated and of whatsoever nature to my spouse ________________________ in the knowledge that he / she shall provide for our minor children named ______________ and ______________.

7. Alternate Beneficiaries

7.1. Should my spouse not survive me by thirty (30) days I direct that the remainder of my estate as referenced in paragraph 6 above be divided amongst my minor children named ____________ and ____________ in equal shares.

7.2. Should my said spouse and I and my minor children all die simultaneously or within 30 (thirty) days of each other as a result of the same accident or calamity, then and in that event, I direct that the remainder of my estate as referenced in paragraph 6 above be divided amongst my adult children named _______________ and _______________ in equal shares and thereafter his/her natural, adopted or step children in equal shares where an adult child does not survive to benefit from this provision.

8. 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.

9. General

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

9.2. 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: ________________________________________

* * *

Our printable free last will and testament form above can be used as is, or follow the links below to download a fill in the blanks last will as a PDF or Word template.

Because one's circumstances constantly change - assets are bought and sold, family members join or leave the fray etc. - it is very important to review your will from time to time to ensure it is still valid in every sense and according to your wishes.

The most practical way is to also keep a copy on your computer where you can easily amend it when necessary and produce a new hard copy ready for signing.

If you prefer not to draft a new document, then you can execute a Codicil to Will to make changes to your will such as:

Adding or removing a beneficiary;
Changing the executor of your will;
Adding a bequest;
Changing your funeral arrangements, etc.

Notes and alternate or additional clauses to consider for the above last will and testament:

5.1. and 5.2. - If you bequeath cash sums to your adult children, it may necessitate assets to be sold should the amounts specified not be available as cash reserves. An alternative may be to bequeath specific property such as an apartment, jewelry, artwork etc.

Note though that the value of any such property may fluctuate or not even be in your possession any more at the time of your death. This is another good reason why a last will and testament should be reviewed and amended (if necessary) from time to time.

You also need to consider that the value of these items will have to be determined and tallied in the state assets and that the will has to go through the (sometimes lengthy) probate process before the assets can be legally distributed.

grandchild inheriting pocket watch

5.4. - If you do not have any grandchildren as per the provision in our sample last will and testament form above, you may want to consider this alternative:

* Should any of my adult children named above not survive me by 30 (thirty) days, I direct that the bequest(s) made to him/her revert to the remainder of my estate.

5.5. - If any property described above is encumbered by debt which the beneficiary of such a bequest does not want to assume liability for, such property shall revert to the remainder of my estate.

And Then There's Your Social Media Will to Plan For!

So many of us have online accounts such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, email etc., that will need to be memorialised or closed when we pass away.

We are going to make it easy for you to do so with our APP! You can appoint an executor (perhaps your internet savvy adult child) and securely leave details of your logins and final wishes on finalising these accounts.

Visit our EndExec page to register your email so you'll get advance notice when we release this App.

There are many variables for bequests and alternate beneficiaries and no single template may be ideally suitable for you. Have a look through the various free legal will templates (listed on our Free Legal Forms contents page) for any other provisions that you may want to incorporate in your last will and testament.

It may help you to streamline your thoughts and to draft a will that can be submitted to your attorney to compile your final document.

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