Wills in Missouri must be in writing, signed by the person making the will, and witnessed by at least two competent people who sign in the testator’s presence.1Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Revised Statutes 474.320 – Will Form, Execution, Attestation The testator has to be at least 18 (or an emancipated minor) and of sound mind. Skip any of those formalities and the document can be thrown out entirely, no matter how clearly it reflects what the person wanted.
What Makes a Will Valid
Three things have to happen. The will has to exist on paper. The testator has to sign it, or direct someone else to sign for them while they watch. And two competent witnesses have to sign in the testator’s presence.1Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Revised Statutes 474.320 – Will Form, Execution, Attestation The testator also has to “publish” the will, which just means making clear through words or conduct that the document is meant as their will.
Sound mind has a specific meaning here. The testator needs to understand what they own, who would naturally inherit from them, and what signing a will actually does. Emancipated minors qualify if they got that status through a court order, marriage, or active military duty.
Choose Witnesses Who Don’t Inherit
Missouri does not automatically void a will because a beneficiary witnessed it, but there’s a real cost. If the will doesn’t have two disinterested witnesses, any witness who also inherits has to give back whatever they received above what they would have gotten with no will at all.2Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Revised Statutes 474.330 – Interested Witnesses Pick witnesses with nothing to gain.
The Self-Proving Affidavit
Notarization isn’t required, but a self-proving affidavit saves real trouble later. In the affidavit, the testator and the witnesses swear before a notary that they followed the legal formalities.3Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Revised Statutes 474.337 – Written Will Self-Proved, How Without it, a witness may have to appear in probate court to confirm the will is genuine, which turns into a problem if the witness has moved, lost capacity, or died by then.
Will Formats Missouri Accepts
Attested Wills
The standard Missouri will is attested: a written document, typed or handwritten, signed by the testator and by two or more witnesses. This is the format least likely to be challenged.
Oral Wills, in Narrow Cases
A person facing immediate threat of death from illness or any other cause can speak their wishes aloud, but the oral will works only if the person actually dies from that peril. Two disinterested witnesses have to hear it. One of them has to put it in writing within 30 days. The written version has to be submitted for probate within six months of death. And an oral will can dispose of no more than $500 in personal property, and cannot revoke or change an existing written will.4Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Revised Statutes 474.340 – Nuncupative Wills It’s a last resort, not a plan.
Handwritten Wills Are Not Enough on Their Own
Missouri does not recognize holographic wills. A handwritten document with no witnesses is invalid, no matter how clear the wishes are. Section 474.320 requires witness attestation for every written will.1Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Revised Statutes 474.320 – Will Form, Execution, Attestation A heartfelt letter found in a drawer carries no legal weight. This is one of the most common and expensive misunderstandings in Missouri estate planning.
Changing or Revoking a Will
There are two ways to revoke a written will: make a new one that replaces it, or physically destroy the old one by burning, tearing, canceling, or obliterating it. The destruction has to be done by the testator, or by someone else at the testator’s direction and in their presence. Crossing out a paragraph with no witness, or telling someone to toss the will when you aren’t there, may not count.
For smaller changes, you can use a codicil. A codicil is an amendment that has to meet the same formalities as the will itself: written, signed, and witnessed by two people. Every codicil should name the original will and spell out what it changes. If the revisions are significant, drafting a new will is usually cleaner than stacking codicils on top of each other.
What a Spouse Is Entitled To
Missouri doesn’t let a will cut a surviving spouse out entirely. Even if the will leaves the spouse nothing, the spouse can “take against” the will and claim a guaranteed share. If the deceased leaves no surviving children or other descendants, the spouse’s share is one-half of the estate after debts. If there are surviving descendants, the spouse’s share is one-third after debts. The elective share comes on top of exempt property and the family allowance.5Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Revised Statutes 474.160 – Election by Surviving Spouse to Take Against Will, Effect
The surviving spouse (or unmarried minor children if there’s no surviving spouse) can also claim a homestead allowance. The allowance can’t exceed 50 percent of the estate’s value or $15,000, whichever is less, and it’s exempt from creditors’ claims. It replaces traditional dower and homestead rights. The claim has to be filed within ten days after the creditor-claims period expires, or it’s waived.6Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Revised Statutes 474.290 – Homestead Allowance
If You Die Without a Will
Missouri law decides for you. If you leave a spouse but no children, the spouse inherits everything. If you leave a spouse and children who are all also children of that spouse, the spouse gets the first $20,000 plus half the remaining balance, and the children split the rest equally. If any of the children are from a different relationship, the spouse gets half and the children divide the other half.7Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Revised Statutes 474.010 – General Rules of Descent
With no surviving spouse, the estate passes to children in equal shares. With no children, it goes to parents and siblings (or their descendants) equally, then to grandparents and aunts and uncles, and up the family tree from there. Distant relatives can inherit only if they’re within nine degrees of kinship. The rules take no account of relationships, caregiving, or anything the person said during their lifetime.
Assets That Pass Outside the Will
Not everything you own goes through the will or through probate. Missouri’s Nonprobate Transfers Law lets certain assets pass directly to a named beneficiary the moment you die, no matter what the will says.
- Life insurance policies, retirement accounts, and pay-on-death bank accounts transfer directly to the named beneficiary.
- A Missouri beneficiary deed transfers real estate to a named beneficiary at death. The deed has to expressly state it does not take effect until the owner dies, and it has to be recorded with the county recorder of deeds before the owner’s death. No consideration or delivery to the beneficiary is required during the owner’s lifetime.8Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Revised Statutes 461.025 – Deeds Effective on Death of Owner
- Property held in joint tenancy with right of survivorship goes automatically to the surviving co-owner.
- Motor vehicles and trailers can carry transfer-on-death designations on their certificates of ownership.
Because these assets move outside the will, keeping beneficiary designations current matters as much as keeping the will current. A will leaving everything to your sister will not override a retirement account that still names your ex-spouse.
How Probate Works and How Long It Takes
Probate in Missouri usually runs six months to a year for a straightforward estate. The six-month creditor-claims period alone keeps anything from closing faster.
Whoever is named executor should file for letters testamentary promptly after the death with the probate division of the circuit court in the county where the deceased lived.9Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Revised Statutes 473.017 – Application for Letters, Content If no one files within 20 days, any interested person can petition the court to open probate. The outside deadline is one year from the date of death.10Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Revised Statutes 473.020 – If No Application Filed, Others May Request Administration or Probate Miss that window and the complications pile up fast.
Once the court grants letters, the executor inventories assets, publishes notice to creditors, pays legitimate debts, files the deceased’s final income tax return, and distributes what’s left. Creditors have six months from the first published notice to file claims. Creditors who get direct notice by mail have two months from that mailing, with the longer deadline controlling.11Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Revised Statutes 473.360 – Limitations on Filing of Claims Claims filed late are permanently barred.
If the will doesn’t say what the executor should be paid, Missouri uses a statutory fee schedule tied to the value of personal property administered.12Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Revised Statutes 473.153 – Compensation of Personal Representatives, Accountants and Attorneys
Small Estate Shortcut
Estates valued at $40,000 or less after liens, debts, and encumbrances can skip formal probate. Distributees file a small estate affidavit and receive assets without waiting for letters, as long as at least 30 days have passed since the death and no formal probate application is pending. If the property in the affidavit tops $15,000, the court clerk publishes notice to creditors in a local paper.13Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Revised Statutes 473.097 – Small Estate, Distribution of Assets Without Letters
Challenging a Will
Anyone with standing has a limited window. A will contest has to be filed within six months after the will is admitted (or rejected), or within six months after the first published notice that letters have been granted, whichever is later. After that, the probate court’s decision is binding.14Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Revised Statutes 473.083 – Will Binding, When, Contest of Will, Procedure
The recognized grounds are fraud, duress, undue influence, mistake, and situations where the testator didn’t know what the document said. A court can reject part of a will while admitting the rest if only a portion was tainted.15Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Revised Statutes 473.081 – Part of Will Not Admissible
Undue influence is the most commonly alleged ground. Winning requires showing that someone had a close relationship with the testator and used it to override the testator’s own judgment. Courts look at whether the influencer controlled access to the testator, participated in drafting, or received a disproportionately large share. A lack-of-capacity claim requires evidence that at the time of signing the testator could not understand what they owned, who their natural heirs were, or what effect the will would have. Medical records and testimony from people who were around the testator at the time matter most. Will contests go to a jury unless all parties agree to let the judge decide, and the only question the court resolves is whether the document is the valid last will. Other legal claims can’t be rolled into the contest.14Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Revised Statutes 473.083 – Will Binding, When, Contest of Will, Procedure