Free Legal Will Form

Our printable free legal will form can be used as is or it can be downloaded and copied into your word program where you can amend it from time to time.

Having a will in place is not only for elderly or wealthy people!

If you are older than 18 years (in most states in the USA and even younger in some other countries) you are legally entitled to have a will.

legal form and pen

If you want to have a say in how your property should be distributed after you die, you must have a will in place, otherwise the law in your jurisdiction will determine how it will be done.

The free last will and testament supplied on this page may be suited for a single person, without children.

Alternatively one of the following free legal will forms may be better suited for your circumstances:

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

Reading through the other free legal will forms referenced above will also show you alternative clauses or provisions which you may want to add to your document.

If you are cohabiting but not legally married or you have not registered a civil partnership, it is especially important to know that you do not automatically have the same legal rights e.g. exemption from inheritance tax as married people would have.

More information can be found on or page providing guidelines for unmarried partners.

Note:
Refer to our main page on Writing a Will for step by step guidelines on how to write a will that is legally binding.

Free Legal Will 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. Appointment of Executors

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

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

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

2.4. 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.

2.5. 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.

2.6. 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.

2.7. 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.

3. Bequests

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

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

3.2. If at the time of my death any of the property described in 3.1. 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.

3.3. If any of the persons named in 3.1. 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.

3.4. 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.

4. Remaining Property and Residual Estate

4.1. I bequeath the remainder of my estate, property and effects, whether movable or immovable, wheresoever situated and of whatsoever nature in equal shares to:

Name:____________________________________________
Relationship:_______________________________________
Address:__________________________________________

AND

Name:____________________________________________
Relationship:_______________________________________
Address:__________________________________________

4.2. If any of the beneficiaries named in 4.1. 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.

4.3. Should any of the beneficiaries named in 4.1. not survive me by 30 (thirty) days I direct that the non-surviving person's share goes to his / her natural, adopted or step children in equal shares.

5. 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.

6. General

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

6.2. 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 fill in the blanks PDF or Word template.

Note:
It is advisable to write dates in words e.g. 7th day of September 2022 (rather then in the numerical format such as 09/07/2022) so there can be no dispute as to when a will was executed.

Alternate clauses that you can use in this Free Legal Will Template:

A last will and testament may typically specify bequests first and then leave the remainder of the estate to either a single person or entity, or divided amongst a number of people. There are many variations as to how this may be done in order to make provision for every eventuality should beneficiaries predecease the will maker.

Our standard free legal will form cannot cover all eventualities but it should help you streamline your thoughts when drafting your document.

Provision for a Single Beneficiary in a Last Will

4.1. I bequeath the remainder of my estate, property and effects, whether movable or immovable, wheresoever situated and of whatsoever nature to:

Name:____________________________________________
Relationship:_______________________________________
Address:__________________________________________

4.2. Should the person named in 4.1. 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 goes to his / her natural, adopted or step children in equal shares or if there are no surviving natural, adopted or step children I direct that the remainder of my estate, property and effects, whether movable or immovable, wheresoever situated and of whatsoever nature shall go to the following charity organization: _______________________________________.

4.2. Should the person named in 4.1. not survive me by 30 (thirty) days I bequeath the remainder of my estate, property and effects, whether movable or immovable, wheresoever situated and of whatsoever nature to the person named below as alternate beneficiary:

Name:____________________________________________
Relationship:_______________________________________
Address:__________________________________________

document, seal and money in jar

Provision for Executor's Fees in Your Last Will

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 executor and consider adding the following to your free legal will 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).

Codicil to Will - How to Amend Your Will

You can easily make simple changes without making a new will, by executing a Codicil to Will e.g.:

Change a beneficiary;
Make changes to bequests;
Change the executor when a person becomes unwilling or unable to serve in this capacity, etc.

There's One More Important Matter to Consider - Having a Social Media Will!

If you have any online accounts such as email, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter etc. you should leave instructions on how you want those accounts finalised when you pass away.

You can create a social media will either by making provision for your accounts in your free legal will form, or by creating a confidential document addressed to your social media executor. Visit our Social Media Will page for more detailed information and free templates.

This specific free legal will form may not be exactly right for your estate planning, but we do hope that it will assist you in streamlining your thoughts before compiling your last will and testament.

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