A will is a key part of any estate plan. For many people, it’s also the only estate planning document they have. A clear will can help save your loved ones stress and confusion after your death. But if your will isn’t legally valid, your assets might have to be distributed according to state law instead of your wishes.
Take a closer look at Missouri law regarding wills and how our firm can help you ensure that yours is fully in compliance.
Missouri Will Requirements: What Makes a Will Legally Valid?
Each state is free to set its own laws regarding what makes a will valid. Missouri law regarding wills is fairly straightforward, at least when it comes to validity. For a will to be valid in Missouri, it has to meet a few basic requirements, such as:
- It must be in writing
- The document has to be signed by the testator (the person making the will) or someone the testator has directed to sign on their behalf
- Two witnesses in the presence of the testator must sign it
These physically present witnesses should be “disinterested” witnesses, meaning they don’t stand to gain anything from the will.
For the will to be legally valid, the testator must be at least 18 years of age and of sound mind at the time of writing and signing. However, Missouri generally recognizes wills written by minors as legally valid if one of the following applies:
- The minor is legally emancipated
- The minor is married
- The minor is on active military duty
Notably, Missouri doesn’t require a will to be notarized in order to be valid. However, notarizing it may help avoid disputes over the will’s validity after your death.
How to Make a Legal Will in Missouri
In Missouri, you aren’t required to work with an attorney when creating your will, but it’s highly recommended. Here’s a quick rundown of how to make a legal will in Missouri:
Start With an Inventory of Assets
Before you write your will, you should take stock of all your assets and their approximate values. Don’t forget to include the following:
- Your bank account(s)
- Investment and brokerage accounts
- Retirement accounts
- Your home and other real estate
- Your vehicle(s)
- Other physical possessions
If you have pets or minor children, you can name guardians for them in your will. Before you start drafting the will itself, check in with the people you want to choose and ask them if they’re comfortable taking on that responsibility.
Choose Your Beneficiaries
Depending on the size of your estate and the number of people you want to leave money and assets to, this step may or may not be complex. Before you start writing the will itself, make sure you know exactly which assets you want each beneficiary to inherit.
Select a Personal Representative
A personal representative, or executor, is someone you choose to oversee the administration of your estate. These are some of their key responsibilities:
- Filing the Petition for Probate after your death
- Securing your assets and taking an inventory
- Notifying beneficiaries and creditors
- Paying outstanding debts and estate taxes
- Distributing remaining assets according to the terms of the will
- Closing the estate with the court
In Missouri, personal representatives are entitled to reasonable compensation. If your will doesn’t specify payment, Missouri law allows for compensation based on the total value of the estate, including:
- 5% of the first $5,000
- 4% of the next $20,000
- 3% of the next $75,000
- 2.75% of the next $300,000
- 2.5% of the next $600,000
- 2% of any value over $1 million
Make sure your chosen personal representative fully understands what the role entails before they commit. In case your first choice is unable to administer your estate after your death, you may want to consider appointing a backup.
Draft the Document
Once you’ve put together all the information you need to write your will, it’s time to draft the document itself. Missouri recognizes both typed and handwritten wills, but to reduce the risk of someone misreading what you’ve written, it’s generally best to type your will.
Working with a lawyer during this phase is ideal. Your attorney can help you fully understand Missouri’s last will and testament laws and verify that your will is fully in compliance with them. When your will is fully compliant with state law, your family members will be less likely to encounter problems in probate court.
Many people don’t initially realize the importance of a clear, specific will. When the will goes through the probate process, and your personal representative distributes your assets to beneficiaries, no one will be able to ask you for clarification if they don’t understand something.
Missouri Will Execution Requirements: Signing and Witness Rules
According to the Missouri Revised Statutes, last will and testament documents don’t just have to follow the basic requirements for writing them. If you want your will to be legally valid, you’ll need to make sure you execute it correctly, too.
“Executing” a will means properly signing it and finalizing it. If you fail to execute your will correctly, there’s a chance that the court will invalidate it. If this happens, your assets may be distributed according to state intestacy laws instead of according to your wishes.
These are the key Missouri will execution requirements you will need to follow:
Requirements for Witnesses
In some states, witnesses to the signing of a will must be disinterested. In Missouri, you may technically execute a will even if one or both of your witnesses stand to gain something from your estate.
But there’s a catch: If a witness to the will is entitled to inherit some of your assets, they forfeit anything exceeding what they would inherit under state intestacy laws. The only way to avoid that forfeiture is to have the will witnessed by two disinterested people as well.
To make sure your assets will be distributed the way you intended, the best course of action is typically to execute your will with two disinterested witnesses. Keep in mind that your witnesses must be at least 18 years old and of sound mind.
Rules for Signing
To properly execute your will, make sure you follow these steps:
- Sign the will in the presence of your witnesses
- If you are unable to physically sign, you must choose someone to sign for you and acknowledge the signature
- Your witnesses must sign the will in your physical presence
Valid will requirements in Missouri don’t include notarization, but signing in the presence of a notary public can help reduce the risk of possible will contests later on.
Self-Proving Affidavits and Why They Matter in Missouri Probate
The probate court process is often long, stressful, and expensive. During probate, the court must verify that the will is legitimate. Even if you sign the will in the presence of two disinterested witnesses, the court may have to call those witnesses to testify.
When witnesses have to appear, probate court fees increase. That can reduce the total value of what your loved ones ultimately inherit.
You can save your loved ones stress and high court fees by creating a simple but critical document called a self-proving affidavit. A properly executed affidavit allows the court to validate the will automatically.
Here are the Missouri self-proving affidavit requirements you’ll need to follow to create an automatically valid will:
- The language in the affidavit must be the same, or substantially similar to, the language used in the Missouri statutes
- You and two disinterested witnesses must sign the document under oath in front of a notary public or another officer of the court
- The notary must sign, add their seal, and attach a certificate
- The affidavit doesn’t have to be executed at the same time as the will, but the witnesses must be the same as those in the original will
Self-proving affidavits aren’t just about saving your loved ones’ stress, time, and money. They also make it much harder for someone to contest your will. The affidavit itself is evidence that you were of sound mind when you drafted and signed the will, so anyone who wants to challenge that fact will have to provide conclusive proof.
Common Mistakes That Can Make a Missouri Will Vulnerable
Having a general idea of what makes a will valid in Missouri is vital, but before you create your own will, you should also be aware of common mistakes that may leave your will open to challenges or lead to it being invalidated by the court:
Not Using Disinterested Witnesses
Most of the time, the people who stand to inherit the most from your estate are the people closest to you. So when it’s time to execute your will, it’s easier to ask them to be your witnesses.
However, if you don’t use disinterested witnesses, your loved ones may have to forfeit some or all of their inheritance. When it’s time to sign your will, taking the time to find disinterested witnesses is worth it.
Using Premade Templates
In an effort to save money, simplify the estate planning process, or both, many people turn to premade will templates or DIY electronic wills instead of working with an attorney. There are issues that can arise with these wills, though.
Many use vague language to make them usable in all states, but that language can lead to misinterpretations. Templates also often rely on unclear descriptions of assets, which can cause confusion and even family conflict.
Working with an estate planning attorney, on the other hand, can allow you to create a valid will customized to fit your unique needs. You’ll have the peace of mind of knowing that when the time comes, your loved ones will know exactly how to follow your wishes.
Creating a Holographic Will
Some states recognize holographic wills, which are in the testator’s own handwriting and signed without witnesses. Missouri doesn’t recognize these wills. Whether your will is typed or handwritten, it must still be signed by you and two witnesses.
Not Designating Contingent Beneficiaries
What happens if one of your beneficiaries has died or is otherwise unable to inherit? This situation can cause significant family conflicts, and it can prolong the process of closing your estate.
The best way to avoid the problem is to designate contingent, or backup, beneficiaries for each asset.
Trying to Control Accounts With Beneficiary Designations
When creating wills online or by themselves, many people will try to leave their 401(k), bank accounts, and similar financial assets to loved ones. These accounts have their own beneficiary designations, though, and the beneficiary on the account will legally take precedence over the one listed in the will in most cases.
Each time you update your will, you should update the beneficiaries listed on your accounts as well. If you don’t, your assets might be distributed in a way you wouldn’t have wanted.
Here’s an example. Imagine that your spouse is the designated beneficiary on your 401(k). You divorce, remarry, and write a will leaving your 401(k) to your new spouse. If you never changed the beneficiary designation with the sponsoring financial institution, your ex-spouse might inherit the balance after your death.
Improper Modifications
Each time you change your will, make sure you add a legally valid codicil or redo your will entirely. Many people will try to add new, handwritten instructions to modify their wills, but these changes usually aren’t upheld in court.
Updating and Revoking Your Will Under Missouri Law
Missouri statutory will laws clarify what you need to do to establish your will as a valid legal document. However, like other estate planning documents, your will isn’t (or shouldn’t be) something you create and never revisit.
As your life circumstances change, your estate plan should grow with you. In many cases, that means you will need to update or even revoke your will.
Updating Your Will
A surprising number of people mistakenly believe that all you need to update your will is a collection of initialed, handwritten cross-outs. More often than not, though, courts will declare these modifications invalid.
Instead, you can generally choose between the following two options when changing your will:
- Creating an entirely new will
- Creating a codicil
If you must make major changes, creating a new will is often the best way to go. If you need to make one or more small changes, a codicil offers a simpler option.
A codicil is a legal document that functions like an amendment to an existing will. Because it’s treated as a separate legal document, a codicil must be signed by the testator and two witnesses, just like the original.
Revoking Your Will
If you’ve created a new will or intend to in the very near future, revoking your older will is essential. Most lawyers recommend doing this by creating a new will. Under Missouri law, a new wills automatically revoke prior wills.
To avoid possible confusion, you should also include what’s called a “revocation clause” in your new will. This is an explicit statement that the new will revokes any and all previously created wills or codicils. You should also update all copies.
Missouri Will Compliance Checklist Before You Sign
When you’re trying to make crucial decisions about how your estate should be divided, keeping track of Missouri legal will criteria can be harder than it seems. Although it’s always wise to review your will with an estate planning attorney before you finalize it, this checklist can be helpful to review yourself:
- Is your name clearly stated?
- Does this will clearly revoke all previous wills?
- Have you included all of your assets?
- Have you clearly named beneficiaries for each asset?
- Do the beneficiaries of your financial accounts match beneficiary designations directly on the accounts?
- Have you designated contingent beneficiaries in case the people you choose can’t inherit?
- Have you included guardians for minor children and pets?
- Does your chosen executor or personal representative accept the responsibility?
- Have you selected at least two disinterested witnesses who are of sound mind?
Make sure you don’t sign the will until you’re in the presence of the witnesses.
Need Help Navigating Missouri Law Regarding Wills?
Missouri estate planning laws can be difficult to understand. For most people, estate planning is already an emotionally challenging process, and having to make sense of intricate legal frameworks while doing it can quickly become overwhelming.
That’s where we come in. The Law Office of David S. Schleiffarth, LLC, is committed to helping you protect the people and the things you care about. If you need to update an existing will, create one for the first time, or talk about estate planning in general, we’re here for you. Get in touch with us today to set up your consultation.
