Tennessee Code Annotated

Tenn. Code Ann. § 32-1-106 (2026)

Nuncupative will

✓ current as of May 2026

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(a) A nuncupative will may be made only by a person in imminent peril of death, whether from illness or otherwise, and shall be valid only if the testator died as a result of the impending peril, and must be:
- (1) Declared to be the testator's will by the testator before two (2) disinterested witnesses;
- (2) Reduced to writing by or under the direction of one (1) of the witnesses within thirty (30) days after such declaration; and
- (3) Submitted for probate within six (6) months after the death of the testator.

(b) The nuncupative will may dispose of personal property only and to an aggregate value not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), except that in the case of persons in active military, air or naval service in time of war the aggregate amount may be ten thousand dollars ($10,000).

(c) A nuncupative will neither revokes nor changes an existing written will.

Acts 1941, ch. 125, § 6; C. Supp. 1950, § 8098.6; T.C.A. (orig. ed.), § 32-106.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 4 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 2005–2021 · leading case: In Re Est. of Boote, 198 S.W.3d 699 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2005).

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In Re Est. of Boote, 198 S.W.3d 699 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2005). · cites it 8× “§§ 32-1-105 (2001), 32-1-110 (2001) (holographic wills); Tenn.Code Ann. § 32-1-106 (2001) (nuncupative wills); 1 PRITCHARD § 4, at 7-8.”

In Re Est. of Joseph Owen Boote, Jr. (Tenn. Ct. App. 2005). · cites it 6× “§§ 32-1-105 (2001), 32-1-110 (2001) (holographic wills); Tenn. Code Ann. § 32-1-106 (2001) (nuncupative wills); 1 PRITCHARD § 4, at 7-8.”

State of Tennessee v. Ricky L. Helmick, Jr. (Tenn. Crim. App. 2021). · cites it 2× “Helmick for the purpose of inheritance under Code section 32-1-106(b). Moreover, the jury considered the theft and murder charges simultaneously.”

Robert W. Mills v. Nita D. Mills (Tenn. Ct. App. 2015). · cites it 2× “§ 32-1-105 (requiring ―the signature and all its material provisions must be in the handwriting of the testator and the testator's handwriting must be proved by two (2) witnesses‖ to prove a holographic will); Tenn. Code Ann. § 32-1-106 (requiring for a valid nuncupative will,…”

— Tenn. Code Ann. § 32-1-106(a) — 1 case

In Re Est. of Boote, 198 S.W.3d 699 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2005). “§§ 32-1-105 (2001), 32-1-110 (2001) (holographic wills); Tenn.Code Ann. § 32-1-106 (2001) (nuncupative wills); 1 PRITCHARD § 4, at 7-8.”

— Tenn. Code Ann. § 32-1-106(a)(2) — 1 case

— Tenn. Code Ann. § 32-1-106(b) — 1 case

State of Tennessee v. Ricky L. Helmick, Jr. (Tenn. Crim. App. 2021). “Helmick for the purpose of inheritance under Code section 32-1-106(b). Moreover, the jury considered the theft and murder charges simultaneously.”

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