{"id":11553,"date":"2019-11-03T07:03:13","date_gmt":"2019-11-03T07:03:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/?p=11553"},"modified":"2022-10-07T11:25:03","modified_gmt":"2022-10-07T16:25:03","slug":"how-to-write-a-will-in-texas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wills-trusts\/how-to-write-a-will-in-texas\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Write A Will In Texas"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Trials and Tribulations of a Will<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Creative Writing Gone Astray<\/strong><\/h2>\n

If there was one document that could benefit from therapy, it would be a will<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

A will can be conflicted, contested, and constructed.\u00a0 It can, tragically, suffer from latent or patent ambiguity, inconsistency, and mistakes.\u00a0 It can even contain a negative bequest.<\/span><\/p>\n

The only good news for a Texas will is that it cannot be stricken by mortmain<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Looking at the hundreds of appellate decisions regarding wills, it would be easy to criticize the various testators for not using the standard form for a will so that all of these complications could have been avoided.<\/span><\/p>\n

There is only one problem with that: \u00a0 there is no standard form for a will.<\/span><\/p>\n

Not in the Texas statutes.\u00a0 Not in the Texas common law.\u00a0 Not even on the internet.<\/span><\/p>\n

Every will is therefore an exercise in creative writing. That leaves a whole lot of words that could be subject to dispute.<\/span><\/p>\n

To get to that point, however, you have to get past the threshold question:\u00a0 is the document even a will?<\/span><\/p>\n

How Is A Document Considered A Will In Texas?<\/h2>\n

In Texas, a document must meet 6 requirements to be considered a will.<\/span><\/p>\n

First, the will must be in writing.\u00a0 Texas outlawed oral wills in 2007.<\/span><\/p>\n

Second, the will must be signed by the testator (whose will it is) or be signed by someone else on the testator\u2019s behalf, in his presence and under his direction.<\/span><\/p>\n

Third, unless the will is entirely in the testator\u2019s own handwriting, his signature must be witnessed by two people who are at least 14 years old and who must sign their names to the will in their own handwriting in the testator\u2019s presence.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fourth, at the time the testator signed his will, he must be at least 18 years old, or have been married, or be a member of the US armed forces, an auxiliary to the US armed forces or the US Maritime Service.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fifth, the testator has to be of sound mind and still have the right and power to make a will.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sixth, the testator\u2019s will has to be written with an intent that it disposes of his property on his death<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Once the document has been determined to be a will, then we can start looking at the content.<\/span><\/p>\n

What To Look Out For In Your Will<\/h2>\n

A poorly drawn will can lead to problems and disputes.\u00a0 For example, if a term is used in a will but not defined, then the law fills in the definition.\u00a0 If the will states \u201cI leave my personal effects to Bill,\u201d then poor Bill is going to get the testator\u2019s clothes, toilet articles, eye glasses and dentures because that is how the courts have interpreted the phrase \u201cpersonal effects.\u201d\u00a0 Bill would have reaped a considerably more gratifying inheritance if the will had stated \u201cI leave my personal property to Bill.\u201d That is because Texas law defines \u201cpersonal property\u201d as including goods, money, a \u201cchose\u201d in action, an evidence of debt and a real chattel.<\/span><\/p>\n

A lot can go wrong in a will.\u00a0 Have a little compassion and spend enough time to get it right.<\/span><\/p>\n

Virginia Hammerle<\/a> is Board Certified in Civil Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.\u00a0 Contact her at legaltalktexas@hammerle.com or to sign up for her newsletter.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Trials and Tribulations of a Will Creative Writing Gone Astray If there was one document that could benefit from therapy, it would be a will. A will can be conflicted, contested, and constructed.\u00a0 It can, tragically, suffer from latent or patent ambiguity, inconsistency, and mistakes.\u00a0 It can even contain a negative bequest. The only […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":11692,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[42],"tags":[747],"class_list":{"0":"post-11553","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wills-trusts","8":"tag-beneficiaries"},"yoast_head":"\nHow To Write A Will In Texas - Hammerle Morris Law Firm<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A will can be conflicted, contested, and constructed. We at Hammerle Morris created a guide on how to write a will properly and what to look out for.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wills-trusts\/how-to-write-a-will-in-texas\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How To Write A Will In Texas - Hammerle Morris Law Firm\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A will can be conflicted, contested, and constructed. We at Hammerle Morris created a guide on how to write a will properly and what to look out for.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wills-trusts\/how-to-write-a-will-in-texas\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Hammerle Morris Law Firm\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-11-03T07:03:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-10-07T16:25:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/11\/11.3-blog.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Virginia Hammerle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Virginia Hammerle\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/wills-trusts\\\/how-to-write-a-will-in-texas\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/wills-trusts\\\/how-to-write-a-will-in-texas\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Virginia Hammerle\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3a35dce360aad1cd9da53574c3c1a6bd\"},\"headline\":\"How To Write A Will In Texas\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-11-03T07:03:13+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-10-07T16:25:03+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/wills-trusts\\\/how-to-write-a-will-in-texas\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":566,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/wills-trusts\\\/how-to-write-a-will-in-texas\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2019\\\/11\\\/11.3-blog.png\",\"keywords\":[\"Beneficiaries\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Wills & Trusts\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/wills-trusts\\\/how-to-write-a-will-in-texas\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/wills-trusts\\\/how-to-write-a-will-in-texas\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/wills-trusts\\\/how-to-write-a-will-in-texas\\\/\",\"name\":\"How To Write A Will In Texas - Hammerle Morris Law Firm\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/wills-trusts\\\/how-to-write-a-will-in-texas\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/wills-trusts\\\/how-to-write-a-will-in-texas\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2019\\\/11\\\/11.3-blog.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-11-03T07:03:13+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-10-07T16:25:03+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3a35dce360aad1cd9da53574c3c1a6bd\"},\"description\":\"A will can be conflicted, contested, and constructed. We at Hammerle Morris created a guide on how to write a will properly and what to look out for.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/wills-trusts\\\/how-to-write-a-will-in-texas\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/wills-trusts\\\/how-to-write-a-will-in-texas\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/wills-trusts\\\/how-to-write-a-will-in-texas\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2019\\\/11\\\/11.3-blog.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2019\\\/11\\\/11.3-blog.png\",\"width\":800,\"height\":500},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/wills-trusts\\\/how-to-write-a-will-in-texas\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How To Write A Will In Texas\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/\",\"name\":\"Hammerle Morris Law Firm\",\"description\":\"Legal Talk Texas\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3a35dce360aad1cd9da53574c3c1a6bd\",\"name\":\"Virginia Hammerle\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2020\\\/01\\\/virginia-150x150.jpg\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2020\\\/01\\\/virginia-150x150.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2020\\\/01\\\/virginia-150x150.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Virginia Hammerle\"},\"description\":\"Virginia Hammerle is a contributing columnist to The Dallas Morning News and writes weekly articles and blogs on legal issues confronting seniors and their families.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/in\\\/virginiahammerle\\\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/author\\\/virginia-hammerle\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How To Write A Will In Texas - Hammerle Morris Law Firm","description":"A will can be conflicted, contested, and constructed. We at Hammerle Morris created a guide on how to write a will properly and what to look out for.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wills-trusts\/how-to-write-a-will-in-texas\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How To Write A Will In Texas - Hammerle Morris Law Firm","og_description":"A will can be conflicted, contested, and constructed. We at Hammerle Morris created a guide on how to write a will properly and what to look out for.","og_url":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wills-trusts\/how-to-write-a-will-in-texas\/","og_site_name":"Hammerle Morris Law Firm","article_published_time":"2019-11-03T07:03:13+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-10-07T16:25:03+00:00","og_image":[{"width":800,"height":500,"url":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/11\/11.3-blog.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Virginia Hammerle","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Virginia Hammerle","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wills-trusts\/how-to-write-a-will-in-texas\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wills-trusts\/how-to-write-a-will-in-texas\/"},"author":{"name":"Virginia Hammerle","@id":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/#\/schema\/person\/3a35dce360aad1cd9da53574c3c1a6bd"},"headline":"How To Write A Will In Texas","datePublished":"2019-11-03T07:03:13+00:00","dateModified":"2022-10-07T16:25:03+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wills-trusts\/how-to-write-a-will-in-texas\/"},"wordCount":566,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wills-trusts\/how-to-write-a-will-in-texas\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/11\/11.3-blog.png","keywords":["Beneficiaries"],"articleSection":["Wills & Trusts"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wills-trusts\/how-to-write-a-will-in-texas\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wills-trusts\/how-to-write-a-will-in-texas\/","url":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wills-trusts\/how-to-write-a-will-in-texas\/","name":"How To Write A Will In Texas - Hammerle Morris Law Firm","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wills-trusts\/how-to-write-a-will-in-texas\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wills-trusts\/how-to-write-a-will-in-texas\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/11\/11.3-blog.png","datePublished":"2019-11-03T07:03:13+00:00","dateModified":"2022-10-07T16:25:03+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/#\/schema\/person\/3a35dce360aad1cd9da53574c3c1a6bd"},"description":"A will can be conflicted, contested, and constructed. We at Hammerle Morris created a guide on how to write a will properly and what to look out for.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wills-trusts\/how-to-write-a-will-in-texas\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wills-trusts\/how-to-write-a-will-in-texas\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wills-trusts\/how-to-write-a-will-in-texas\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/11\/11.3-blog.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/11\/11.3-blog.png","width":800,"height":500},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wills-trusts\/how-to-write-a-will-in-texas\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How To Write A Will In Texas"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/#website","url":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/","name":"Hammerle Morris Law Firm","description":"Legal Talk Texas","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/#\/schema\/person\/3a35dce360aad1cd9da53574c3c1a6bd","name":"Virginia Hammerle","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/01\/virginia-150x150.jpg","url":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/01\/virginia-150x150.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/01\/virginia-150x150.jpg","caption":"Virginia Hammerle"},"description":"Virginia Hammerle is a contributing columnist to The Dallas Morning News and writes weekly articles and blogs on legal issues confronting seniors and their families.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/virginiahammerle\/"],"url":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/author\/virginia-hammerle\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11553","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11553"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11553\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11692"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11553"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11553"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11553"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}