Testator

What it means

Every rule about a will is expressed as a rule about the testator: the testator must sign, the testator must have capacity at the moment of signing, the testator's intention governs where the words allow it.

The word is used for a person of either sex in modern statutes, and the older word testatrix is no longer needed.

Somebody who dies without a will is not a testator, and the estate is described as intestate instead.

Why it matters

The execution requirements a state imposes are conditions on what the testator did, which is why a will that says exactly what somebody wanted can still fail on how it was signed.

It is also the word a reader meets in every statute and every form in this area, and not knowing it makes the source material unreadable.

When you are likely to meet it

• When reading a state's execution requirements for a will.
• When a will is offered for probate and the court asks what the testator did.
• When a challenge turns on capacity or on pressure applied to the testator.

How this varies by state

What a testator must do for a will to be valid — how many witnesses, whether they must be present together, whether a handwritten will counts, and whether a defective one can be rescued — is set by each state.

Related terms

• WillA written document saying who should receive what, and who should be in charge of seeing that it happens.
• Testamentary capacityThe mental capacity required to make a valid will. The standard is lower than the phrase “sound mind” suggests.
• Holographic willA will written entirely in the person's own handwriting. Some states accept one without witnesses; many do not accept one at all.
• Witness requirementsWho must watch a document being signed, how many, and whether they may also benefit from it. Getting this wrong can void the whole document.
• Self-proving affidavitA sworn statement attached to a will, signed by the witnesses in front of a notary, so that a court can accept the will without tracking them down.
• CodicilAn amendment to a will. It changes part of it and leaves the rest standing.
• IntestateDying without a valid will, so the estate passes by the state's own rules rather than by anybody's wishes.
• Undue influencePressure that overcomes somebody's own wishes, so that a will, gift or transfer reflects the influencer's intentions rather than theirs.
• ExecutorThe person named in a will to carry it out — once a court actually appoints them.
• DeviseA gift made by will — historically of land, and in modern statutes of anything.

Sahvelo guidance that uses this

• Wills and trusts
• The will