Wills and estate planning in Mississippi

Researched 2026-10-20 · confidence: low · 2026 figures

In plain words: in Mississippi a will is valid when it's signed in front of 2 adult witnesses. There is no state estate tax. The federal estate tax exemption is $15,000,000 a person in 2026.

Witnesses to a will	2 (a third is a common precaution here)
Handwritten (holographic) will	Recognised
Self-proving affidavit	Available
Electronic wills	Not allowed
Power of attorney	No notary
Health care directive	2 witnesses or a notary
State estate tax	No
State inheritance tax	No
Community property	No
Age of majority / UTMA age	21 / 21

Signing a will

Statute: Miss. Code Ann. §91-5-1.

A devise to a subscribing witness is void if the will cannot otherwise be proved (i.e., without two other credible witnesses), but the witness may keep up to the intestate share he would otherwise take; the rest of the will stands (Miss. Code Ann. §91-5-9).

Will must be attested by two or more credible witnesses in the testator's presence unless WHOLLY written and subscribed by the testator (holographic; §91-5-1). Use two disinterested witnesses. Self-proving via affidavits of subscribing witnesses (§91-7-7). No electronic-wills statute found. Age of majority is 21 for most purposes, though persons 18+ of sound mind may make a will (§91-5-1). Research caveats: Could not read official Mississippi Code text (legislature/Justia current pages blocked); most rules come from secondary sources plus long-standing knowledge. UPOAA non-enactment, directive witness rules, and elective-share section numbers should be verified on the official code. Age of majority 21 (Miss. Code §1-3-27) and UTMA 21 (§91-20-3) from secondary sources.

Power of attorney

Statute: Miss. Code Ann. §§87-3-101 to 87-3-113 (Uniform Durable Power of Attorney Act, 1979 model).

Mississippi has NOT enacted the 2006 UPOAA (2014 bills such as HB 468 did not pass per available sources). Durability requires express words that the power is not affected by later disability or incapacity (§87-3-105). The statute imposes no notary or witness requirement, but acknowledgment before a notary is needed to record with the chancery clerk and is expected by banks - always notarize. No statutory form. Gifts/beneficiary changes should be expressly authorized (no hot-powers statute).

Health care directive

Called: Advance health-care directive.

Statute: Miss. Code Ann. §§41-41-201 to 41-41-229 (Uniform Health-Care Decisions Act).

Witnesses may not be the agent, a health-care provider, or an employee of a health-care provider or facility; at least one witness must not be related to the principal by blood, marriage or adoption and not entitled to any part of the estate (Miss. Code Ann. §41-41-205).

Executed with two qualified witnesses OR acknowledged before a notary public (§41-41-205). Optional statutory form at §41-41-209. Witness restrictions from secondary summaries; statute text not read directly.

If there's no will: what a spouse gets

The surviving spouse takes a child's share, i.e., shares equally with the decedent's children (and descendants of deceased children by representation) (Miss. Code Ann. §91-1-7).

A spouse's right to a share

A surviving spouse may renounce the will and take the intestate share, but not more than one-half of the estate, reduced if the spouse's separate estate is large (Miss. Code Ann. §§91-5-25, 91-5-27, 91-5-29).

Estate and inheritance tax

No state estate tax.

No inheritance tax.

Probate

Chancery-court probate is relatively heavy (court supervision, inventories/accountings unless waived); a small-estate affidavit for personal property is available when the estate is $75,000 or less, not indexed (Miss. Code Ann. §91-7-322).

Money God drafts a Mississippi will, power of attorney and health care directive from a short interview, then you send it to your attorney for review before signing.

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Sources

Researched from state statutes and official forms. Laws change; this page is information, not legal advice. Every Money God draft is reviewed by a licensed attorney in your state before you sign it.