Writing a Will in Texas: Requirements & Costs

This is general information, not legal advice. Laws vary by state, and your specific situation may require professional legal guidance.

The general rule first: under the Texas Estates Code, a valid will must be made by a person who is at least 18 years old (or legally married, or a member of the armed forces), of "sound mind," and executed according to one of two recognized methods. Get either of those methods wrong and probate court may refuse to admit the document.

For a formal attested will — the kind most attorneys draft — Texas requires your signature plus the signatures of two credible witnesses who are present at the same time. Those witnesses must be at least 14 years old and cannot be beneficiaries under the will (if they are, the gift to them becomes void, though the rest of the will may survive). No notarization is required by law, but adding a self-proving affidavit — notarized at signing — saves your executor significant time later by eliminating the need to track down witnesses during probate.

A holographic will is written entirely in your own handwriting and signed by you. No witnesses. No notary. Sounds simple. Every time I've seen a holographic will challenged in probate, the problem was a single typed or printed element — a form letterhead, a date stamp — mixed into the document. Texas courts have voided wills over exactly that. If you go holographic, every word must be in your hand.

• Testator must be 18+ (or married or active military)
• Must be of "sound mind" at the time of signing
• Formal will: signed by testator + 2 adult, disinterested witnesses
• Holographic will: entirely handwritten and signed — no witnesses required
• Self-proving affidavit (notarized) recommended for formal wills
• Witnesses to a formal will should not be named beneficiaries

The decision isn't really about cost. It's about risk tolerance and estate complexity.

A formal attested will drafted by a Texas estate planning attorney costs $300–$800 for a simple single or married-couple will. Complex estates — blended families, minor children with named guardians, significant assets, business interests — typically run $800–$1,500 or more. You get a document that's much harder to challenge, properly structured language that Texas probate courts recognize, and a self-proving affidavit built in.

A holographic will costs nothing out of pocket. If you're in a situation where attorney access isn't immediately possible — a sudden health event, a remote location — it's valid under Texas law and better than having nothing. But courts scrutinize handwritten wills more closely. Ambiguous language, missing asset descriptions, or any printed element creates an opening for challenges.

Online will platforms (LegalZoom, Trust & Will, and similar services) charge $90–$250 for a basic will. They can produce a formally valid Texas document if you fill in every field correctly. The catch: they cannot flag whether your specific asset titling, community property status, or beneficiary designations are aligned with what you've written. I've reviewed estates where the online will was technically valid but completely contradicted by a 401(k) beneficiary designation that hadn't been updated since 2009.

Married couples in Texas face a layer of complexity that residents of most other states don't: community property law. Texas is one of nine community property states. Generally, assets acquired during marriage belong equally to both spouses regardless of whose name is on the title. Your will can only dispose of your half of community property and your separate property. Misunderstanding this — especially with real estate — is the single most common expensive mistake I see.

Parents of minor children: your will is where you name a guardian for your children if both parents die. Skipping this forces a court to make that decision without your input. Texas courts give significant weight to a named guardian in a valid will, but they're not bound by it — the court's standard is the child's best interest. Name your preferred guardian and an alternate.

Business owners face a different problem. A will controls probate assets. If your business interest passes through a buy-sell agreement, an LLC operating agreement, or a trust, your will may not control it at all. Treating a business interest as a simple bequest in a will — without coordinating with your entity documents — can create a legal mess that costs far more to untangle than an attorney would have charged upfront.

Worth knowing: not all assets pass through your will. Life insurance, retirement accounts, bank accounts with POD (payable-on-death) designations, and jointly titled property pass outside probate entirely. A will that leaves everything to your children means nothing for a life insurance policy that still names an ex-spouse as beneficiary.

Laws vary by state — significantly. Texas does not recognize oral (nuncupative) wills for most property, though there's a narrow exception for personal property during a last illness (and the rules are strict enough that you shouldn't rely on this). Some states do recognize oral wills more broadly; Texas does not.

Texas does not require wills to be probated within a fixed short window, but there is a four-year deadline after the testator's death to file for probate in most circumstances. Miss that window and you may be forced into a much more complicated muniment of title process — or lose the ability to probate at all.

Texas also has a distinct independent administration process that most other states lack. If your will names an independent executor and specifies independent administration, your executor can manage and distribute the estate without court supervision at every step. This saves time and money. A will that doesn't include this language may require dependent administration — court approval for routine transactions. That difference in cost can run into the thousands.

Here are the realistic numbers for 2026:

The attorney timeline reflects scheduling, not legal complexity. Most Texas estate planning attorneys can turn around a simple will in under two weeks once they have your information. Complex estates involving trusts or business succession planning take longer — and that's appropriate. Rushing the document increases the chance of errors.

Probate in Texas, when everything is in order, typically takes 3–6 months for independent administration. Contested wills or dependent administration stretch that to 12–18 months or more, with legal fees that can consume a meaningful portion of the estate.

You'll get more value from an attorney consultation — and pay less for it — if you show up prepared.

• Inventory your assets: Real estate (and how it's titled), bank accounts, retirement accounts, life insurance, vehicles, business interests, and significant personal property. Note whether each is held individually, jointly, or in a trust.
• Check beneficiary designations: Pull the current beneficiary forms for every retirement account and life insurance policy. These override your will. Outdated designations are one of the most preventable estate planning failures I see.
• Decide on key appointments: Executor (the person who manages your estate), guardian for minor children (primary and alternate), and a trustee if you're considering a trust. Have conversations with these people before the attorney meeting — they should agree to serve.
• Note your community vs. separate property: Property you owned before marriage, or received as a gift or inheritance during marriage, is generally separate property in Texas. Everything else is likely community property. Your attorney needs to understand this to draft correctly.

Honestly, most people arrive at an estate planning consultation having done none of this. The meeting then costs more and takes longer than it should.

• Inventory all assets and note how each is titled
• Check and update beneficiary designations on all financial accounts
• Choose and confirm your executor, guardian (if applicable), and trustee
• Identify separate vs. community property
• Gather account numbers, property addresses, and policy numbers