How many witnesses does a will need in Tennessee?

A will in Tennessee must be signed in front of two witnesses. The witnesses must sign at the same time, in each other's presence and in front of the testator. See Tenn. Code §32-1-101 et seq..

Does a will have to be notarized in Tennessee?

No. Notarization is not required for a Tennessee will to be valid, but adding a self-proving affidavit (which is notarized) lets the will be admitted to probate without calling the witnesses to testify.

Is a handwritten will valid in Tennessee?

Yes. Tennessee recognizes holographic wills (wills written entirely in the testator's handwriting and signed by the testator) without witnesses. We do not generate handwritten wills, but you may write one by hand if you prefer.

What is the minimum age to make a will in Tennessee?

You must be at least 18 years old to make a will in Tennessee.

Can I sign my will online in Tennessee?

No. Tennessee does not currently recognize electronic wills. A will must be signed and witnessed in person on paper to be valid; remote online notarization is allowed for other documents like trusts and powers of attorney.

What documents make up a complete estate plan in Tennessee?

A complete estate plan in Tennessee usually includes four documents: a Last Will and Testament, a Revocable Living Trust, a Durable Power of Attorney, and a Healthcare Directive. Will.com generates all four together based on your answers.

Estate plan requirements

Tennessee

Everything your estate plan needs to be valid in Tennessee: execution requirements, the documents we generate, statutory citations, and the exact wording our generators insert.

Requirements at a glance

Document	Witnesses	Notary
Will	2 required	Recommended
Living trust	None required	Recommended
Power of attorney	None required	Required
Healthcare directive	2 required, or notary	Alternative to witnesses

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Tennessee content last reviewed May 18, 2026.

Will

Tenn. Code §32-1-101 et seq.

Witnesses: 2 required

Two witnesses must sign in the presence of the testator and each other (T.C.A. §32-1-104(a)(2))

Witnesses together: Required

Tennessee requires the attesting witnesses to sign in each other's presence; signing within a reasonable time of one another is not sufficient.

Notarization: Recommended

Not legally required, but recommended for self-proving affidavit

Holographic will: Valid

Handwritten wills without witnesses are recognized in Tennessee

Self-proving affidavit: Available

Allows the will to be admitted to probate without witness testimony

ViewWitness disqualification / interested-witness rule

Tenn. Code §32-1-103: any person competent to be a witness generally in Tennessee may act as an attesting witness to a will. No will is invalidated because it is attested by an interested witness, but unless the will is also attested by two disinterested witnesses, an interested witness forfeits so much of the gift to that witness as exceeds in value, as of the date of the testator's death, what the witness would have received had the testator died intestate. A witness is interested only if the will gives the witness some personal and beneficial interest. Practical effect on a two-witness Tennessee will: the two-disinterested-witness saving is never met when a witness is a beneficiary, so an interested witness keeps at most an intestate share.

Living Trust

Witnesses: None required

No formal execution requirements beyond settlor signature; notarization strongly recommended when funding real property

Notarization: Recommended

Not legally required for the trust document, but needed to transfer real property

Durable Power of Attorney

Witnesses: None required

No witnesses required for power of attorney

Notarization: Required

Notarization is required for a valid durable power of attorney

State-specific notes

•Durability must be explicitly stated in the writing. Tenn. Code §34-6-102

•Have this power of attorney acknowledged before a notary public at signing. Tennessee does not condition the validity of a durable power of attorney on notarization: it requires a writing designating an attorney in fact that contains durability language (Tenn. Code §34-6-102). Notarization matters for use rather than for validity. To be registered with a county register, the instrument must carry an original signature that is either acknowledged according to law or proved by at least two subscribing witnesses, and the register may refuse to record an instrument that is not so authenticated (Tenn. Code §66-22-101(a)). Banks, brokerages and title companies in practice ask for an acknowledged power of attorney, and an unrecordable power of attorney cannot be used to convey or encumber real property, so complete the notary acknowledgment at signing.

•Healthcare POA has its own execution requirements under Tenn. Code §34-6-203

Advance Directive for Health Care

Tenn. Code §68-11-1801 et seq.

Witnesses: 2 required, or notary

Tennessee accepts either 2 witnesses or notarization

Notarization: Accepted as alternative

Acknowledged before a notary public. Tenn. Code §68-11-1803(b)

State-specific notes

•Witnesses must be competent adults, and the agent named in the directive may not serve as a witness. At least one witness must not be related to the principal by blood, marriage, or adoption and must not be entitled to any portion of the principal's estate under any will or codicil of the principal existing at the time of execution or by operation of law then existing. The written advance directive must itself contain an attestation clause attesting that the witnesses meet these requirements (Tenn. Code §68-11-1803(b)). A durable power of attorney for health care carries the same attestation-clause requirement (Tenn. Code §34-6-203(a)(3)).

ViewWitness disqualification recital

I further declare that I am a competent adult; that at least one of the two witnesses to this Advance Directive is not related to the principal by blood, marriage, or adoption and would not be entitled to any portion of the principal's estate upon the principal's death under any will or codicil of the principal existing at the time of this execution or by operation of law then existing; and that the witnesses to this Advance Directive comply with the requirements of Tenn. Code §68-11-1803(b).

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6 more documents with a subscription

$29/year unlocks the documents below alongside the four free ones above. Your answers and documents are saved privately to your account, encrypted in your browser, so you can revise them any time life changes.

Disposition of Remains Authorization

Names the agent who controls funeral, burial, or cremation decisions, with optional preferences.

HIPAA Authorization

Stand-alone PHI release that survives death for the period you specify, separate from the in-life authorization in your healthcare directive.

Nomination of Conservator

Pre-nominates the person you want a court to appoint if a conservator (or guardian of the estate) is ever needed.

Business Succession Declaration

Identifies your interests in any closely-held businesses and how they should be transferred or wound down.

Real-Estate Retitling Checklist

Step-by-step instructions for transferring real-property deeds into your trust so the trust actually controls those assets.

Letter of Instruction

Non-binding personal note to your executor and family: where to find documents, account access, funeral wishes, and other practical guidance.

Free vs. paid

	Free	Paid
All 4 state-specific documents	Included in free	Included in paid tier
State-specific signing guide	Included in free	Included in paid tier
Download as PDF, print forever	Included in free	Included in paid tier
Secure online storage	Not in free	Included in paid tier
Covers real estate, business, digital, and funeral wishes	Not in free	Included in paid tier
Disposition of remains authorization	Not in free	Included in paid tier
Standalone HIPAA authorization	Not in free	Included in paid tier
Nomination of conservator	Not in free	Included in paid tier
Business succession declaration	Not in free	Included in paid tier
Real-estate retitling checklist	Not in free	Included in paid tier
Special needs trust provisions	Not in free	Included in paid tier
Letter of instruction, pre-filled and editable	Not in free	Included in paid tier
Edit anytime	Not in free	Included in paid tier
Annual review reminder	Not in free	Included in paid tier

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Electronic will status

Tennessee has not adopted electronic will legislation. A traditional paper will with physical signatures is required.

Digital assets access

Tennessee has adopted RUFADAA (2016). This is the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, which lets your executor, trustee, or agent access your email, social media, cryptocurrency wallets, cloud storage, and other digital accounts after death or incapacity.

To take advantage of RUFADAA, your will, trust, or power of attorney must explicitly grant authority to access digital assets. Without explicit authorization, service providers can deny access even to a court-appointed executor.

Remote online notarization (RON)

Tennessee authorized RON in 2019. The law took effect on July 1, 2019.

Will

Not allowed

Trust

Allowed

POA

Allowed

Remote online witnessing (ROW)

Tennessee does not allow remote online witnessing for estate planning documents. Witnesses must be physically present when you sign.

Will

Not allowed

Trust

Not allowed

POA

Not allowed

HC Directive

Not allowed

This information is general in nature and not legal advice. Laws change. Consult a licensed estate planning attorney in Tennessee for guidance specific to your situation.

Also for Tennessee

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Free last will and testament, valid in Tennessee.

Tennessee healthcare directive

Name your medical decision-maker and treatment wishes.

Tennessee power of attorney

Name someone to handle finances if you can't.

Tennessee living trust

Skip probate and keep your estate private.

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