Most people assume a will has to be signed at the bottom of the last page containing the estate plan’s provisions. When a testator’s signature appears on a completely separate page, one containing no dispositive language, does the will fail to meet Texas’s execution requirements? This seemingly technical question can determine whether an entire estate plan is validated or thrown out.
A signature appearing on a separate page creates an opening for claims that the testator signed one document while the dispositive provisions exist on another. The argument goes that these are two separate documents never properly joined together.
The court addressed this issue in In re Estate of Edward C. Curry, Nos. 10-23-00207-CV, 10-23-00208-CV (Tex. App.–Waco Aug. 28, 2025). The case invovles a signature on a secondary page and shows how the courts evaluate these types of cases.
Facts & Procedural History
Edward died in 2022. He had executed two wills during his lifetime. One will was dated October 5, 2017 and one was September 8, 2021. The same three witnesses attested to both documents. Following his death, Edward’s daughter, Emberlee, filed for probate of the 2021 will.
Gant claimed to be Edward’s spouse through informal marriage and challenged the validity of the 2021 will. The probate court divided the issues into two cause numbers and proceeded to a jury trial.
At trial, all three subscribing witnesses testified about the will execution ceremony. They confirmed Edward gathered them for a will signing, signed the document in their presence, asked them to sign as witnesses, and declared it to be his last will. The jury found the 2021 will valid and determined no informal marriage existed between Gant and Edward.
Gant appealed, arguing that, among other things, the will was invalid because Edward’s signature and the witness attestations appeared on page two, while page one contained all the dispositive provisions. She contended this meant the signature and will were separate documents that were never properly joined.
Texas Statutory Requirements for Valid Wills
Section 251.051 of the Texas Estates Code establishes the formalities that must be met for a document or writing to be a will.
The first requirement is that given that there has to be a writing, the will must be in writing. The second requirement is that the testator must sign the will in person. The third requirement is that at least two credible witnesses who are at least 14 years of age attest to the will by subscribing their names in their own handwriting in the testator’s presence.
These requirements create a permanent record of the testator’s intentions. The signature demonstrates the testator’s approval of the document’s contents and helps prevent fraud. The attestation requirement provides independent observers who can later testify about the execution and confirm the testator had capacity and was not subject to undue influence.
But the rules stop there. They do not specify where the testator’s signature must appear on the document. The law simply requires the testator to sign. This silence on signature location has led to litigation when signatures appear in unusual places, including on pages separate from the will’s substantive provisions.
Distinguishing Separate Documents from Integrated Pages
Texas courts have addressed whether a will is valid when the signature appears on a different page from the dispositive provisions. There have been quite a few of these cases.
In these cases, the courts start by examining whether the pages constitute separate documents or parts of a single integrated document. The analysis does not focus solely on the physical separation but on whether the pages were intended to be joined together.
In this case, the court started by reviewing the Ajudani v. Walker, 177 S.W.3d 415, case as precedent. In that other case, the court held a purported holographic will invalid because the signature and will appeared in two separate documents. The will consisted of seven pages. The sixth page contained a postscript and carbon copy designation suggesting it was the final page. The seventh page was written on different paper and lacked the category headings that appeared on previous pages.
These factors: different paper type, markers of finality on an earlier page, and inconsistent formatting, led the court to conclude the signature page was a separate document. The Ajudani decision established that courts look beyond mere physical separation. They examine whether markers suggest the pages were created separately or never intended to be joined.
The court in this case also noted that while scrutinizing whether pages are separate documents, Texas courts have adopted a flexible approach regarding signature location and form. For example, in Jones v. Jones, 649 S.W.3d 577, the testator did not sign on the signature block appearing on page seven. Instead, he initialed and dated the bottom left corner of pages one through six. The trial court found the will invalid. The court of appeals reversed. The testator had gathered witnesses for a formal will-signing ceremony. He asked witnesses to sign. He initialed the pages before two witnesses. He declared the document to be his last testament. These circumstances demonstrated that he intended the initials to constitute his signature. The scattered location across six pages did not defeat validity.
The Signature on the Second Page
The court applied these principles to Edward’s 2021 will in this case. Unlike Ajudani, the Curry will did not have any markers indicating the two pages were separate documents. Both pages were written on the same paper type.
The pages were stapled together. No postscript or carbon copy designation appeared on page one. The second page did not lack formatting elements present on the first page.
These physical characteristics supported the conclusion that Edward intended the two pages as the will. The stapling permanently joined the pages. The consistent paper showed they were created as one document. The absence of finality markers on page one meant page two was always contemplated.
The court also examined evidence of Edward’s intent during execution. Like the testator in Jones, he gathered three witnesses for a formal signing ceremony. He asked all three to sign as witnesses. He signed the second page. He declared the document to be his last will. This ceremonial execution demonstrated his intent to sign the complete two-page document as his will.
The court concluded that legally and factually sufficient evidence existed that Edward intended his signature to constitute approval of the document as his will. The two-page structure did not defeat validity because the pages were physically integrated and the testator intended to sign the complete document.
The Takeaway
This case shows that Texas courts will not invalidate a will merely because the testator’s signature appears on a page separate from the dispositive provisions. The analysis turns on whether the pages constitute separate documents or parts of an integrated whole. Courts examine physical markers like paper type, stapling, and formatting consistency. They evaluate evidence of the testator’s intent during the execution ceremony. This case demonstrates the importance of preserving evidence about will execution ceremonies. When witnesses can testify about the formalities observed during signing, that the testator gathered witnesses, conducted a ceremonial signing, and declared the document to be a final will, courts have a factual basis for finding valid execution even when the physical document raises technical questions.
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