To make a valid will in Tennessee, you must be 18 or older and of sound mind, put your wishes in writing, sign the document, and have two witnesses sign in your presence under Tenn. Code Ann. § 32-1-104. You can also add a self-proving affidavit to speed up probate later.
Key Takeaways
- Tennessee requires two witnesses who sign in your presence and each other's presence.
- Handwritten (holographic) wills are valid without witnesses if the signature and material terms are in your own handwriting, but you need two people to later prove your handwriting.
- A self-proving affidavit lets your will skip live witness testimony in probate court.
- You can revoke or update a will at any time while you have capacity, but updates should be formal, not scribbled in the margins.
What are the basic requirements to make a valid will in Tennessee?
Tennessee requires that you be at least 18 years old and of sound mind. Your will must be in writing, signed by you (or by someone else at your direction and in your presence), and signed by at least two attesting witnesses. Under Tenn. Code Ann. § 32-1-104, those witnesses must watch you sign or acknowledge your signature, and they must sign in your presence and in each other's presence.
Witnesses also need to be competent and, ideally, not people who inherit under the will. Tennessee courts treat an interested witness with suspicion, and it can complicate probate even when it does not void the will outright.
Tennessee does not require your will to be notarized to be valid. Notarization only matters if you want to attach a self-proving affidavit, which is a separate step covered below. A will that is signed and witnessed correctly but never notarized is still fully enforceable in Tennessee probate court.
Step-by-step: how do you make a will in Tennessee?
- List your assets, debts, and the people or organizations you want to inherit from you.
- Choose an executor who will manage your estate and a guardian if you have minor children.
- Draft the will naming your beneficiaries, executor, and guardian, and state clearly that the document is your last will and testament.
- Sign the will at the end of the document in front of two witnesses who are 18 or older.
- Have both witnesses sign in your presence and in each other's presence, immediately after you sign.
- Consider a self-proving affidavit, notarized at the same sitting, so witnesses do not have to appear in probate court later.
- Store the original somewhere safe and tell your executor where to find it.
If you would rather not build a will from scratch, FastWill's online will builder walks you through each of these steps and generates a Tennessee-compliant document.
Does Tennessee recognize handwritten (holographic) wills?
Yes. Under Tenn. Code Ann. § 32-1-105, a holographic will does not need witnesses at signing, but the signature and all material provisions must be entirely in your own handwriting. When the will reaches probate, two people who know your handwriting must testify to prove it is genuine. A holographic will is a fallback option, not a strategy. Typed, witnessed wills hold up better and cause fewer fights among heirs.
What is a self-proving affidavit and do you need one in Tennessee?
A self-proving affidavit is a sworn statement, signed by you and your witnesses before a notary, confirming the facts of the will's signing. Tennessee's affidavit statute, Tenn. Code Ann. § 32-2-110, lets the court accept that sworn statement in place of live witness testimony when the will is not contested. Without it, the court may need to track down your witnesses years later, which can slow probate if they have moved, lost touch, or died. Signing the affidavit at the same time you execute your will costs you nothing extra and saves your executor real time.
DIY will vs. hiring a lawyer in Tennessee
Most Tennessee estates, meaning a house, some savings, retirement accounts, and a car or two, do not need a custom drafted will from an attorney's office. A DIY will covers naming an executor, guardian, and beneficiaries and gets the execution formalities right, which is where most homemade wills actually fail. You should talk to an estate planning attorney if you own a business, have a blended family with competing claims, expect a contest, or have a beneficiary with special needs who needs a trust instead of a direct inheritance. A will is one piece of a full plan; see our Tennessee estate planning overview y estate planning checklist for Tennessee for what else to cover, including a power of attorney (see our guide to Tennessee power of attorney) and whether a living trust makes sense for your situation.
How do you update or revoke a will in Tennessee?
You can revoke a Tennessee will by physically destroying it with intent to revoke, by executing a new will that states it revokes prior wills, or by a written revocation signed with the same formalities as a will. Marriage, divorce, and the birth of a child are common reasons Tennessee residents update their wills. Do not cross out lines or write changes directly on an existing signed will. That kind of edit is not enforceable and can throw the whole document into question. Execute a new will or a formal codicil instead.
A codicil is a short, separate document that amends specific provisions of an existing will without replacing the whole thing. It must be signed and witnessed with the same formalities as the original will under Tenn. Code Ann. § 32-1-104. For most people, especially after a major life event like a move, a divorce, or the sale of a major asset, it is simpler and safer to execute a fresh will that revokes all prior wills and codicils than to stack up multiple amendments that could conflict with each other.
Preguntas frecuentes
Do I need a lawyer to make a will in Tennessee?
No. Tennessee law does not require an attorney to draft or execute a will. You do need to follow the signing and witnessing rules in Tenn. Code Ann. § 32-1-104 exactly, since that is where DIY wills most often go wrong.
Can my spouse or beneficiary act as a witness?
Tennessee does not automatically void a will because an interested party witnessed it, but using a beneficiary as a witness invites a challenge and can put that witness's own inheritance at risk. Choose two witnesses who have nothing to gain under the will.
Is a will made in another state valid in Tennessee?
Generally yes, if the will was validly executed under the law of the state where it was signed or where you were domiciled at the time. Still, have it reviewed after moving to Tennessee to confirm nothing in it conflicts with Tennessee probate rules.
What happens if I die without a will in Tennessee?
Tennessee's intestacy statutes decide who inherits, generally your spouse and children in shares set by law, not by your preference. See our guide on what happens if you die without a will in Tennessee for the full breakdown, and our general guide to writing your own will for the concepts that apply nationwide.
Do I need to notarize my will in Tennessee?
Notarization is not required to make the will itself valid, but it is required for the optional self-proving affidavit under Tenn. Code Ann. § 32-2-110, which is worth doing.
Ready to put this in writing instead of leaving it to chance? Build a Tennessee-compliant will with FastWill's will package and get the execution steps right the first time.
