How Much Does a Will Cost in Tennessee?

By The Estate Planning Guide Editorial Team Researched against primary sources

Published June 11, 2026 7 min read

Quick answer

A simple will in Tennessee typically costs about $300 to $1,000 with an attorney, and $0 to $150 online. Tennessee also recognizes handwritten (holographic) wills, so a valid will can technically cost nothing — but a will directs an estate through probate rather than avoiding it. It routes your estate through Tennessee probate; it doesn't skip it. If avoiding probate is the goal, that's a living-trust question.

⚠️ Educational information only — not legal, tax, or financial advice.

The figures on this page are general estimates. Laws, fees, thresholds, and prices differ by state and change often, and your own situation may change the result. Before you act, confirm the current numbers and rules for Tennessee with a licensed professional — an attorney, tax advisor, or licensed agent as appropriate. Reading this page does not create a professional relationship.

What a will costs in Tennessee

How you make it	Typical cost in Tennessee	Best for
Attorney-drafted	$300 to $1000	Most people; anything with children, property, or blended families
Online will service	$0 to $150	Simple estates, clear beneficiaries
Pure DIY / handwritten	$0	Rarely the best idea — easy to get wrong

Illustrative Tennessee pricing as of 2026 — re-verify with current quotes. Attorney quotes are often for a small package (the will plus financial and healthcare powers of attorney), not the will alone.

A simple will in Tennessee is genuinely inexpensive — $300 to $1000 with an attorney, and as little as $0 online. The price is low for a reason: a will is a relatively simple document. The cost climbs only when your situation is complicated — minor children and a guardianship decision, a blended family, a business, or potential estate tax.

What makes a will valid in Tennessee

A standard Tennessee will (other than a holographic or nuncupative one) must be signed by the testator and by at least two witnesses who sign in the testator's presence (Tenn. Code Ann. §32-1-104).

The witnesses should be disinterested — that is, not people who inherit under the will — so no one can later argue they had a reason to lie about the signing. Get that one detail wrong and the gift to an interested witness (or the whole will) can be challenged.

Can you write your own will by hand in Tennessee?

Tennessee recognizes holographic (handwritten) wills under Tenn. Code Ann. §32-1-105 — no witnesses are needed at signing if the signature and all material provisions are in the testator's own handwriting, but after death the handwriting must be proved by two witnesses. They're legal but harder to probate than a witnessed will.

Even where a handwritten will is legal, it’s the riskiest way to do it: no witnesses means no one to confirm it was really you and that you weren’t pressured, and ambiguous handwriting is a gift to anyone who wants to contest it. A typed, witnessed, self-proved will costs very little and avoids all of that.

The self-proving affidavit (a small step that saves a big headache)

Tennessee allows a self-proving will via a sworn affidavit of the testator and witnesses under Tenn. Code Ann. §32-2-110, so the witnesses generally don't have to be tracked down to testify later. A typed, witnessed, self-proved will is the easiest to probate.

Without it, your witnesses may have to be tracked down years later to confirm they watched you sign — which can be impossible if they’ve moved, lost touch, or died. It’s one of the cheapest, highest-value things you can add to a will.

What a will does not do in Tennessee

A will directs an estate through probate; it does not remove assets from it. A will tells the Tennessee probate court who receives what and who administers the estate. Property governed by the will still passes through probate — the court-supervised, public process.

The cost of the document and the cost of probate are therefore separate figures. For what probate itself costs in Tennessee, see How Much Does Probate Cost in Tennessee?.

What passes outside probate in Tennessee

Assets transfer outside probate only by operation of law or contract, regardless of what a will says. The recognised mechanisms are:

Beneficiary designations — retirement accounts, life insurance, and payable-on-death accounts pass to the named beneficiary.
Joint ownership with right of survivorship — passes to the surviving owner.
Transfer-on-death instruments, where Tennessee authorises them.
Assets titled into a funded living trust.

A will has no effect on any asset transferred by these routes. For the Tennessee figures on the trust alternative, see How Much Does a Living Trust Cost in Tennessee?, and for the documented differences between the two instruments, Will vs. Trust: How They Differ.

What affects the price in Tennessee

Published pricing varies with these factors:

Preparation route. Online will services are the lower end of the range; attorney drafting is the upper end. Tennessee-specific forms and a self-proving affidavit are not included by every service.
Bundling. A will, a financial power of attorney, and a healthcare directive are commonly quoted together at less than the sum of their separate prices. The power of attorney and directive operate during life; a will operates only at death.
Estate complexity. Minor children, blended families, business interests, special-needs beneficiaries, and estate-tax exposure are the factors attorneys cite for higher quoted fees.

What the record shows

Item	Tennessee
Attorney-drafted simple will	$300 – $1,000
Governing statutes	Tenn. Code Ann. §32-1-104 (execution of witnessed wills); Tenn. Code Ann. §32-1-105 (holographic wills); Tenn. Code Ann. §32-2-110 (self-proving affidavit)
State authority	Tennessee Code (Justia)

A will directs an estate through probate and does not remove assets from it. Execution requirements, the treatment of handwritten wills, and the self-proving affidavit rules for Tennessee are set out above with their statutory citations. Figures reflect published 2026 pricing and should be re-verified against live quotes.

Will costs in other states

Compare Tennessee with what a will costs in other states:

How to Write a Will (and What Makes It Valid) — the full step-by-step.
Do I Need a Will? — what happens under intestacy when there is none.
How Much Does a Will Cost with a Lawyer? — the national cost picture.
How Much Does Probate Cost in Tennessee? — the separate cost of probate itself.
How Much Does a Living Trust Cost in Tennessee? — the instrument that holds assets outside probate.

This page explains will costs and validity rules in Tennessee in general terms as of 2026. It is not legal advice; statutes and figures change and depend on your situation. Confirm current rules with a licensed Tennessee attorney. Cost figures reflect published 2026 attorney and online-service pricing and should be re-verified with live quotes. Sources: Tennessee Code (Justia); Tenn. Code Ann. §32-1-104 (execution of witnessed wills), Tenn. Code Ann. §32-1-105 (holographic wills), Tenn. Code Ann. §32-2-110 (self-proving affidavit).

Related guides

What Happens If You Die Without a Will by State

Do I Need a Will? What a Will Does and What Intestacy Does

How Much Does a Will Cost with a Lawyer?