When Aretha Franklin died in 2018, her family initially believed she had left no will.
Then, months later, handwritten documents were found inside her home. One was dated 2010 and had been kept in a locked cabinet. Another, dated 2014, was found inside a notebook under couch cushions.
The documents were not identical. Different sons favored different versions. Years after Franklin’s death, a Michigan jury was ultimately asked to decide whether the later handwritten document was actually her valid will.
In July 2023, the jury decided that it was.
The story received attention because Aretha Franklin was famous. But the estate-planning problem behind it is much more ordinary.
Someone has clear ideas about what should happen to property after death. Those ideas change over time. Notes are written. Documents are put away. Perhaps an older will already exists. Eventually, the family is left trying to determine which instructions are final and what they actually mean.
That can happen in Texas just as easily as anywhere else.
A Handwritten Will Can Be Valid in Texas
One lesson should not be taken from the Franklin case: handwritten wills are not automatically invalid.
Texas recognizes what is called a holographic will.
Under Texas law, a will written wholly in the testator’s handwriting is not required to have the signatures of subscribing witnesses. Texas also provides a procedure for making a holographic will self-proved.
So the question isn’t simply:
“Can a handwritten will be legal?”
Sometimes it can.
The more useful estate-planning question is:
“Will the plan leave my family with clear instructions that they can identify and carry out?”
Those are very different questions.
Valid Does Not Necessarily Mean Clear
Franklin’s 2014 document ultimately passed the legal test in Michigan. But determining that took years.
The later document was found under the couch cushions, while an earlier handwritten will was found elsewhere in the house. Her sons disagreed about which document should govern the estate. The two documents contained meaningful differences, and a jury ultimately had to determine whether the later writing was Franklin’s will.
That illustrates a basic weakness of informal estate planning.
A document can eventually be found legally effective while still creating uncertainty along the way.
Suppose a Texas father signs a will at age 60. Ten years later, his circumstances have changed. One child now helps him regularly. He has purchased different property and opened new accounts. His ideas about how things should be divided have changed as well.
Instead of revising the estate plan, he writes several pages explaining what he now wants.
One page is dated. Another is not. One appears to change his old will. Another simply lists property and names.
He knows what he means.
After his death, however, he isn’t there to explain it.
His children must determine whether the handwritten pages were intended as a new will, a change to an earlier will, informal notes, or something else entirely.
That is the problem estate planning should try to prevent.
“My Family Knows What I Want” Isn’t Enough
I often see a related assumption: “My children know what I want.”
They may.
But knowing someone’s general intentions is different from having legally effective instructions.
One child may remember a conversation differently from another. A handwritten note may conflict with an older estate-planning document. A beneficiary designation may direct an account to a different beneficiary than a will specifies. Property owned with survivorship rights may pass according to the title rather than the will.
Even a perfectly clear will does not necessarily control every asset a person owns.
That is why estate planning requires more than simply deciding who should receive property.
The documents, account designations, property ownership, and other parts of the plan need to work together.
Another Problem: Proving the Handwriting
Texas law also illustrates another practical distinction between making a document and later proving it.
If a holographic will has not been made self-proved, Texas law allows it to be proven by two witnesses who are familiar with the testator’s handwriting.
That does not mean every handwritten will will cause difficulty.
It means the person writing the will is creating a document that someone else may eventually have to establish in a probate proceeding.
That is easy to forget while sitting at a kitchen table writing down instructions.
Estate planning is ultimately written for people who will need to use it later.
Changes Should Be Made Deliberately
People’s estate plans should change when their lives change.
A new marriage, divorce, death in the family, birth of grandchildren, sale or purchase of property, retirement, changes in financial accounts, or a significant change in family relationships may all justify reviewing an existing plan.
The mistake isn’t changing your mind.
The mistake is allowing several generations of instructions to accumulate without making clear which one represents your current plan.
If you already have a will and want to change it, the better question is usually not, “Where can I write down the change?”
It is, “How should my estate plan be revised so the new instructions work with everything else?”
Your Family Shouldn’t Have to Solve a Puzzle
Aretha Franklin’s estate involved celebrity, music royalties, and valuable real estate. Most Texas families will never deal with an estate like hers.
But the underlying problem has nothing to do with fame.
A house, a checking account, retirement savings, life insurance, personal property, and three adult children are enough to create uncertainty if the instructions don’t align.
A good estate plan should answer questions rather than create them.
Which document controls?
Who is responsible for handling the estate?
Who receives the property?
What happens if a beneficiary dies first?
How do beneficiary designations and property titles fit with the will?
Where are the original documents?
Those questions are much easier to address while you are alive and able to explain your intentions.
Review the Plan Before Someone Else Has To
If you have an old will, handwritten changes, estate-planning notes in a drawer, or documents that no longer reflect your current family or property, this may be a good time to review them.
The purpose isn’t simply to make sure you have “a will.”
It is to make sure the plan you leave behind clearly reflects what you intend and gives the people you trust usable instructions.
If you have questions about an existing estate plan or about planning for your family in Texas, you can schedule a consultation with my office.
Schedule Your Estate Planning Consultation
This article provides general educational information about Texas estate planning and is not legal advice. Estate-planning results depend on individual facts, including family relationships, property ownership, characterization of community or separate property, beneficiary designations, existing documents, and other circumstances.