Can I Write My Own Will?
By Joshua Harden, Attorney | Memento Mori Law
A do-it-yourself will may seem convenient, but the document must meet applicable legal requirements and work with the rest of your finances.
Key Points at a Glance
What makes a will valid?: Execution requirements, including signing and witnesses where required, depend on state law. A template is not automatically valid.
Common problems: Ambiguous gifts, omitted backup beneficiaries, signing mistakes, and outdated assumptions can create disputes.
Does a will avoid probate?: No. Property passing through a will may still require probate.
When legal advice matters most: Blended families, real estate, minor children, businesses, disability planning, and family disagreements can increase complexity.
What to bring to a consultation: Bring existing documents, a list of major assets, and the names of people you trust to serve.
A Practical Example
A common example is a parent who downloads a form, names two children, and signs it at the kitchen table. The parent may believe the job is done. But if the signing does not meet the applicable formalities, or the form does not address what happens when a beneficiary dies first, the family could face avoidable questions.
Even a properly signed will only governs property that passes through the will. A jointly owned home, a retirement account with a beneficiary, or assets already in a trust may follow different rules. Estate planning works best when the documents and ownership arrangements tell the same story.
What to Review Before You Act
Before relying on a form, write down what you own, how it is titled, who should inherit, who should manage the estate, and what happens if your first choices are unavailable. Think through unexpected situations, including incapacity, a beneficiary's death, or a disagreement about a home.
Kansas and Missouri each have legal requirements for wills. Internet templates often assume a particular jurisdiction or a simple family structure. A legal review may be particularly worthwhile if you have real estate, a second marriage, a business, a child with special needs, or concerns about a future dispute.
At Memento Mori Law, attorney Joshua Harden helps individuals and families in Kansas and Missouri understand estate planning and estate administration. Schedule a consultation with Joshua Harden to discuss your particular circumstances.
What a Do-It-Yourself Will Can and Cannot Accomplish
A will can describe who should receive assets that pass through your probate estate, nominate someone to administer the estate, and address certain family responsibilities. It cannot automatically change ownership of every asset you own. Retirement accounts, life insurance, jointly owned property, and assets held in a trust may be governed by separate legal arrangements.
A common misunderstanding is that writing 'everything goes to my children' settles every question. If a bank account names one child as payable-on-death beneficiary, the will may not control that account. If a house is jointly owned with survivorship rights, the survivor may take ownership outside the will. The documents and titles need to be coordinated.
Why Signing Formalities Matter
A document can express your intentions clearly and still fail as a legally effective will if execution requirements are not satisfied. The number and role of witnesses, the manner of signing, and related requirements are matters of state law. Kansas and Missouri have distinct statutes and procedures; an online template should not be assumed to satisfy both.
Even when a will is valid, a court or family member may later need evidence that it was executed correctly. Proper witnessing and any applicable self-proving procedure can reduce uncertainty. A document signed in haste during an emergency deserves particular care because capacity, undue influence, and execution may later be questioned.
Questions a Template Often Fails to Ask
What happens if the person you named as executor dies before you? What if one beneficiary dies leaving children? What if a child is under 18 when they inherit? Who decides whether a family home should be sold? Should someone with special needs receive property directly? These are not unusual situations; they are predictable planning questions.
A template may also overlook blended families, unmarried partners, closely held businesses, out-of-state real estate, and gifts of unequal value. In these situations, apparently simple language can create unintended outcomes. Good planning identifies possible points of disagreement before they occur.
When a Lawyer's Review May Be Worth the Cost
Consider professional review if you own a home, have children from more than one relationship, expect family conflict, want to disinherit someone, own a business, have a beneficiary with disabilities, or need coordinated trust planning. An attorney can explain the consequences of your choices and help ensure that the final documents work together.
A legal review need not begin with an assumption that everyone needs an elaborate trust. Some families may be well served by a properly prepared will and complementary documents. Others benefit from trust-based planning or changes to how property is titled. The appropriate level of complexity follows from the facts.
What to Do If You Already Signed an Online Will
Do not assume the document is worthless, and do not make handwritten corrections without advice. Gather the original, any later versions, your deeds, and current beneficiary forms. Make a list of questions about family members, property, and who would act for you during incapacity.
An attorney can assess whether the existing will appears properly executed under applicable law, identify missing provisions, and explain whether an amendment or replacement is appropriate. If you replace a will, address how prior documents should be handled so that your family does not later face competing versions.
Kansas and Missouri: Legal Rules and Sources
Signing and Changing a Will
Kansas: K.S.A. 59-606 generally requires a written will signed at the end by the testator or a person signing in the testator’s presence at the testator’s express direction, and attested by at least two competent witnesses who see the signature or hear an acknowledgment. The statute provides special rules and a narrow oral-will exception under K.S.A. 59-608. A notary alone does not replace proper witnesses.
Missouri: RSMo 474.320 establishes the traditional signed-and-witnessed will requirements. Effective August 28, 2025, Missouri also recognizes qualifying electronic wills under RSMo 474.540–474.564, including section 474.548, which permits two witnesses to sign in the testator’s physical or electronic presence subject to statutory requirements. Electronic wills are not simply unsigned PDFs or online templates. Marriage, divorce, amendments, and nonprobate beneficiary designations must be reviewed separately.
Authority to Act During Life
Kansas: K.S.A. 58-652 sets out formal requirements for a durable financial power of attorney, including language establishing durability, signature, date, and acknowledgment requirements. A durable power can continue despite incapacity, but it does not give unlimited powers. Recorded powers and their revocation may raise additional recording requirements.
Missouri: RSMo 404.705 addresses the language and requirements for a durable power of attorney, while RSMo 404.710 addresses the scope of general powers and statutory limitations. An agent’s authority depends on the document and the law; some transactions need express authorization. Neither a financial power of attorney nor a medical directive should be assumed to cover every decision.
Explore Related Articles
Missouri Electronic Wills and Estate Documents: 2025 Law
Missouri enacted the Uniform Electronic Wills Act effective August 28, 2025 (RSMo 474.540–474.564). Section 474.548 recognizes electronic wills executed with the specified testator signature and two witness signatures in physical or electronic presence. This does not make every emailed, typed, scanned, or electronically signed document a valid will. The statutory definitions, execution formalities, custody and certified-copy rules, and the specific document must be evaluated.
Separately, RSMo 474.560 authorizes electronic execution of qualifying estate planning documents such as powers of attorney, trusts, beneficiary deeds, and health care directives, subject to other applicable legal requirements. Section 474.560 does not replace the special electronic-will rules. Kansas execution and recording requirements are separate and should not be assumed identical.
Missouri Electronic Wills: 2025 Law and Witness Requirements
Missouri enacted a separate electronic-wills framework effective for wills of decedents who die on or after August 28, 2025. RSMo 474.548 permits a qualifying electronic will to be signed by the testator (or another individual at the testator’s direction and in the testator’s physical presence) and signed by at least two witnesses in the testator’s physical or electronic presence, subject to the statute. RSMo 474.540 through 474.564 contain additional definitions, requirements, and rules for electronic wills. The separate RSMo 474.560 rule authorizing electronic witnessing of other estate-planning documents excludes wills from that particular provision, but does not prohibit electronic wills under RSMo 474.548. A video call or electronic signature alone does not guarantee a valid will; the complete electronic-wills framework must be satisfied. Kansas will execution and electronic-record requirements must be considered separately.
Electronic-Will Witnesses and Cross-State Execution
Missouri RSMo 474.548(3) adds a witness-location requirement when an electronic will is not accompanied by a contemporaneously signed self-proving affidavit: a witness must be a resident of a state and physically located in a state when signing. RSMo 474.550 separately provides rules for making an electronic will self-proved, including qualifying remote online notarization. RSMo 474.546 recognizes certain electronic wills validly executed under the law of another qualifying jurisdiction. These rules make it important to review the exact execution process, not just whether the will was electronically signed.
Have Questions About Your Estate Plan?
Every family’s circumstances are different. If you have questions about estate planning, probate, trusts, or protecting your loved ones in Kansas or Missouri, schedule a free consultation with Joshua Harden of Memento Mori Law.
Important Legal Disclaimer
Legal Information, Not Individual Legal Advice. This article provides general educational information about Kansas and Missouri law as of October 2026. Legal outcomes depend on the specific facts, applicable jurisdiction, the language and validity of documents, deadlines, court orders, and changes in statutes, regulations, and case law. An exception or additional requirement may apply even if it is not discussed here. Do not sign or change a will, trust, deed, power of attorney, beneficiary designation, or other legal document; transfer assets; miss a deadline; or take action in a court matter based solely on this article. Consult a qualified attorney about your particular circumstances before acting. Reading this article or contacting Memento Mori Law does not, by itself, create an attorney-client relationship.
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