Handwritten Wills – Section 32-1-105, Tennessee Code Annotated

By Matthew D. Faulk – December 3, 2019

College-age students returning home for the holidays is as guaranteed as death and taxes.  In recent weeks, one parent of these returning “marauders” (his word, not mine) asked about whether his son needed to have an estate plan put in place before returning to school.  We talked about the variety of documents any adult above 18 years of age should have in place, but we spent the bulk of our short time discussing (i) whether his son shouldn’t just write out his will, since he didn’t own much, and (ii) whether handwritten wills were valid in Tennessee. 

I shared Tennessee law permits holographic wills, or handwritten wills, so long as it follows very specific requirements, namely: (i) all material provisions of the will must be in the testator’s handwriting; (ii) the testator must sign the will; and (iii) testator’s handwriting must be proved by two (2) witnesses.  Unlike typical wills, which require the attestation and signature of two (2) physically present witnesses (cf. Section 32-1-104, Tennessee Code Annotated), the Testator’s handwriting must only be proved after the fact.

For obvious reasons, I shared that no matter who is contemplating establishing an estate plan, handwritten wills should never have a role in that analysis.  You may think you are saving money by writing out your Will, but please know you are, in all likelihood, guaranteeing the unnecessary expenditure of your money in trying to prove the Will.  Erasures, memoranda, line-outs, and other inevitable marks on what was intended to be your Last Will and Testament will certainly raise questions about your testamentary intent.

Like the son returning to college, anyone contemplating putting a Will in place needs to consult with someone to ensure any final document is accurate and meets all necessary formalities.

Picture courtesy of: https://prosperitylaw.net/your-last-will-and-testament-securing-and-storing-part-2/