Are handwritten wills legal in Texas? Handwritten wills, also know as holographic wills, can be legal in Texas if written properly. It can be better than not having a will at all. But it’s certainly not the best way to have a will.

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For a handwritten will to be legally accepted by a court in Texas it must satisfy these five requirements.

1. The will must be entirely in the testator’s handwriting.

2. The will must be signed by the testator.

3. The will must specifically state which beneficiaries should get which assets.

4. The language must show that the testator intended to make a gift at his or her death that is irrevocable after death.

To some people this may all sound easy, but it is pretty much impossible for these kinds of wills to be as easy and inexpensive to probate as a properly written will drawn up by an estate planning attorney. Sometimes the wills aren’t accepted by the court at all, and even when they are, they always require more work for an attorney to get the will probated. In other words it costs more money and more time, oftentimes way more. The phrase “penny wise, pound foolish” comes to mind.

For example, most likely the testator will not add language that allows the executor to act independently. This will make for a court-supervised administration. This alone can make the probate process cost several thousand dollars more in attorney’s fees.

Likewise, the testator may not put in the correct language to prevent the executor from having to post bond. Again, more expense.

Another issue that is very common for handwritten wills is that the wording is usually ambiguous on which beneficiaries should get which assets. This can cause long, drawn out court battles between beneficiaries.

One last common issue is that a handwritten will sometimes does not include all of the probate assets.

This list of potential problems can go on and on. Given how relatively inexpensive and easy it is to get a properly written will by an attorney, it just doesn’t make any sense to try to handwrite your own.