Will requirements in Texas

Who can make a will in Texas

Texas asks two things of you: that you are at least 18 (or married, or serving in the armed forces), and that you are of sound mind when you sign. Sound mind is a practical standard, not a medical one: you know what you own, who your family is, and what your will does.

Signing your will in Texas

1. 1You sign

   You sign, or direct someone to sign for you in your presence.

2. 2Two witnesses sign

   Two witnesses sign in your presence. Choose adults who inherit nothing under the will; a disinterested witness keeps every gift safe from challenge.

3. 3The affidavit

   Optional but wise: the self-proving affidavit. You and your witnesses swear the affidavit before a notary, and the court can later accept your will without calling anyone to testify.

Handwritten and electronic wills

Texas recognizes holographic wills: a will written entirely in your own handwriting and signed by you. It is legal, and it is also the form most likely to cause trouble, because nothing checks your work. Texas has not authorized electronic wills; the document that gets probated is paper. That is exactly how Myend’s Last Will works everywhere: you build the will online, then print and sign it with your witnesses, on paper, the way every state accepts.

Married in Texas: community property

Texas is one of nine community property states. Most of what you and your spouse acquired during the marriage already belongs to you both, half and half, no matter what your will says. Your will controls your half, plus your separate property. It is the single most common surprise in Texas estate planning, and a good reason to inventory what is actually yours to give.

Your executor

Texas calls the person who carries out your will the executor. You can name almost any capable adult. If your executor lives outside Texas, the court will require them to appoint a Texas resident agent to receive legal papers, so many Texans simply name someone in-state first and an out-of-state loved one as backup. New to the role? Start with what an executor actually does.

If someone challenges the will

Texas enforces no-contest clauses: a provision that disinherits anyone who challenges your will and loses. But the clause has limits. A challenge brought in good faith and with just cause does not trigger it. In other words, Texas lets you discourage frivolous attacks without punishing honest questions.

If you do not make a will

Without a will, Texas law decides who inherits, following bloodlines rather than your wishes. For blended families, unmarried partners, and close friends, the default answer is usually the wrong one. A valid will is how you replace the state’s guess with your own words.

What is different about Texas

Texas trusts your handwriting more than most states, and trusts your marriage with half of everything.

Two traditions meet here. The holographic will, a legacy of a state settled faster than its courthouses could be built, is still good law: your handwriting alone can carry your estate. And community property, inherited from Spanish civil law, means your marriage already owns half of what the marriage earned before your will says a word about it.

Put together, that is a state where making a will is easy and getting it right takes a little care. The form is forgiving. The property rules are not.

Common questions

Sources and review