A Last Will and Testament (also simply called a “will”) is a legal document. It is one of the principal documents used in an estate plan. A will states your wishes for your property and minor children for after you pass away. It’s also where you name an executor (or “personal representative”) to be in Continued.

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.

• A Last Will and Testament (also referred to as a “Last Will” or simply a “Will“) is a document created by an individual, also known as the “Grantor” or “Testator”, which is used to layout how a person’s real and personal property shall be distributed after their death.After the form is created, signed and notarized, the Will should be distributed to all the Beneficiaries.
• Last Will and Testaments are essential for everyone. US Legal Forms, Inc. Offers Last Will and Testaments forms and instructions for people with children, without children, divorced individuals, married couples, singles, widows, widowers and others. Mutual wills and wills with trusts for minor children are also available.

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.

Important Note: Please refer to our page on How to Write a Will for links to other free legal will forms which may suit your requirements better 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:

Free Last Will and Testament Form:

____________________________________
(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 adult children:

Name: ______________________ Date of Birth _________

Name: ______________________ Date of Birth _________

I am married to _____________________________ hereinafter referred to as my spouse.

Last Will And Testament Forms Free Printable

I have the following minor children:

Last Will And Testament California

Name: ______________________ Date of Birth _________

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.

OR

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: ________________________________________

* * *

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.

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.

Last Will And Testament Forms

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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A Last Will and Testament is a legal document that details how a person's assets and property will be distributed after their death. Creating a Will as a part of an estate plan ensures the person making the will, known as the Testator, will have their wishes followed and that the people closest to them are taken care of. People often create a new Will or update their existing Will for the following reasons:

• Marriage or divorce (a change in marital status may void an old Will);
• Significant change in amount of money or property owned;
• Moving to another state (not all states recognize out-of-state Wills as valid);
• Death of an Executor, Trustee, Guardian, or significant named beneficiary;
• Birth or adoption of a new child in the family;
• Significant change in tax laws; or
• Desire to add or remove beneficiaries named in a prior Will.

A Will is an important tool that allows a Testator to make important decisions about how their estate will be handled while they still have the capacity to do so. In order to make a Will, the Testator must be at least 18 years old and of sound mind. Being of sound mind means that the Testator is aware of what they are signing, know the general nature and amount of property they own, and know the relatives or descendants that would usually be expected to share in the estate.

How to use this document

Use this document to explain how the Testator's estate should be distributed among the people they name. There are several major decisions that the testator must make to accomplish this task.

1. Describe the Testator's Family --

The Testator should note whether they are married and, if so, the name of their spouse, as well as whether they have any children. For the purposes of a Will, children include both those that were born to the Testator as well as those that have been legally adopted by the Testator. This Will also includes a provision so that the Testator's future children, if any, are covered by the terms of this Will. All children should be included in the family description, even if the Testator does not plan to leave them anything in the Will. This way, a Judge can be sure that the Testator meant to disinherit a child and did not mistakenly overlook them in their Will.

2. Appoint an Executor --

The Testator must appoint an Executor in their Will. The Executor fills the important role of carrying out the Testator's wishes concerning the legal and financial matters of the estate. The Executor is in charge of making sure that the people the Testator has named as beneficiaries get the portion of the estate described by the Testator. The main requirements of an Executor are that they are an adult 18 years or older and that they have not been convicted of a felony. The person who is the Executor may be named as a beneficiary in the Will. People often choose someone that they are close to and that they trust, such as a spouse or one of their children, to fill this role.

3. Name Beneficiaries --

One of the most important parts of a Will is the Testator naming their beneficiaries. The beneficiaries are the people who will inherit the contents of the Testator's estate, all of their belongings and property, after the Testator's death. The Testator may make specific gifts in their Will, naming specific people to inherit specific possessions, property, or cash assets. For example, a mother might make a specific gift leaving her engagement ring to her eldest daughter or a father might make a specific gift leaving $5,000 to each of their children to help them pay for their college education.

Last Will Form

In addition to specific gifts, the Testator will also name who will inherit the residue, or remainder, of their estate. The residue includes anything that they have not given away in a specific gift. The Testator will name beneficiaries as well as alternate beneficiaries in case the people they have initially named die before them and are therefore unable to inherit. The Testator can name multiple people to inherit the residue of their estate and may specify what percentage or fraction of the estate each beneficiary will get.

In addition to these three main functions of a Will, the Testator also has the option of naming a Guardian for their children who are under 18 years old in case the children's other parent is unable to care for them, setting up a trust account for their children so that their inheritance is managed by an adult known as a Trustee until the children reach a certain age, designating people who will care for their pets, and forgiving any debts that may be owed to them.

Once the Testator has completed their Will and thoroughly reviewed it to make sure that their wishes are accurately reflected, the Testator should sign and date the Will in front of three witnesses. The witnesses should also sign the will, attesting that the Testator was of sound mind and had the capacity to make these decisions when they signed the Will. The witnesses should all be 18 years old or older and not named as a beneficiary in the Will. In addition, the Testator should number and initial the bottom of each page of the Will. Finally, the Will includes a page for a notary to notarize to add an extra level of precaution.

Once the Will has been signed and completed, it should be put somewhere for safekeeping, such as in a home safe or or a bank safety deposit box. The Testator may also give copies of the Will to people with whom they are close and that they trust, such as a spouse or their children.

Applicable law

The creation and interpretation of Wills are a matter of state law. Wills are interpreted according to the state court where they are probated by a judge when the Testator passes away. There are several major differences in state law. The first major difference is that in the minority of states that observe the Community Property regime (Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin), a person may not use their will to disinherit a surviving spouse, who is entitled to at least a portion of the Testator's estate.

The second major difference is that in every state except Louisiana, a Testator may disinherit their children in their Will. In Louisiana, a minimum share of their parent's estate is guaranteed to all surviving children. State law also governs how a Testator may revoke, or nullify, their Will. In some states, a Testator can revoke a particular provision of their Will by striking it out. In other states, this may be either ignored or interpreted as an attempt to revoke the entirety of the Will. Testators should research the laws in their states or contact an estate attorney if necessary if they wish to revoke or change the contents of their Will.

How to modify the template

You fill out a form. The document is created before your eyes as you respond to the questions.

At the end, you receive it in Word and PDF formats for free. You can modify it and reuse it.