Definition
A testator is a person who makes or has made a valid will. More precisely, the term applies to one who dies leaving a will — that is, the status of "testator" is fully realized at death, when the instrument becomes operative and the testator's intentions are given legal effect. A living person in the act of drafting or executing a will is also commonly called a testator, but the legal significance of the role is realized upon death.
Common Language
Modern common usage (Wiktionary): One who makes or has made a legally valid will.
Historical common usage (Webster's 1913): A man who makes and leaves a will, or testament, at death.
The gap between common and legal usage is narrow but worth noting. Webster's 1913 specifies "a man," reflecting the historical existence of the gendered feminine form testatrix for a woman who makes a will. Modern legal usage treats testator as gender-neutral, covering all persons regardless of sex. Researchers encountering testatrix in historical sources should understand it as a functional synonym, not a distinct legal category.
Common Confusion
TESTATOR vs. INTESTATE DECEDENT: A testator is one who dies with a valid will; a person who dies without one is said to die intestate. The distinction triggers entirely different bodies of law — testate succession versus intestate succession. An attempted will that fails for lack of proper execution leaves the decedent legally intestate, even if a document exists.
TESTATOR vs. GRANTOR/SETTLOR: In modern estate planning, individuals frequently execute both a will and a revocable trust. The same person is a testator with respect to the will and a grantor or settlor with respect to the trust. These roles are legally distinct; confusing them creates errors when researching which instrument controls which assets.
Why It Matters in Research
The term testator is foundational to wills and estates research, but several research traps merit attention.
Gendered forms in historical sources: Legal documents and treatises through the mid-twentieth century routinely use testatrix for female will-makers. Boolean searches on testator alone may miss a significant portion of historical case law and commentary involving women's testamentary capacity and property rights. Researchers working in pre-twentieth century sources should run parallel searches on testatrix.
Testamentary capacity and intent: The legal maxim carried forward in every historical dictionary entry — Testatoris ultima voluntas est perimplenda secundum veram intentionem suam (the last will of a testator is to be thoroughly fulfilled according to his real intention) — is not merely decorative. It is an operative rule of construction that courts have applied to resolve ambiguities. Research into will construction disputes will frequently encounter this principle, sometimes cited to Coke on Littleton (Co. Litt. 322) and sometimes paraphrased without attribution.
Civil law origins: Burrill and Black's Second Edition both flag that the term is borrowed from the civil law, citing Justinian's Institutes (Inst. 2, 14, 5, 6). This lineage matters in jurisdictions with mixed civil-common law heritage — particularly Louisiana — where the rules governing testators may diverge from common law states. It also means that comparative and historical researchers will find the term used consistently across both civil and common law traditions, though the surrounding procedural rules differ.
Corpus connections: Research on testator will naturally intersect with entries and materials on testamentary capacity, undue influence, will execution formalities, probate procedure, and intestate succession. The testator's intent is the lodestar of will construction doctrine, making it a recurring concept in appellate decisions on ambiguous bequests, failed conditions, and lapsed gifts.
Historical Dictionary Support
The four historical sources are in close agreement. All define testator as one who makes or has made a will, with Black's Second Edition and Burrill adding the specification "one who dies leaving a will" — a useful clarification that the role is consummated at death. Rapalje & Lawrence and Black's Second Edition both carry the maxim on testamentary intent with the Coke citation, signaling its central importance to the common law tradition.
Burrill's is alone in briefly noting the Latin derivation (tari, to make a will), which is consistent with its general practice of tracing terms to Roman sources. None of the historical sources address the modern shift away from gendered forms, which is expected given their dates of publication. The treatment of testator across these dictionaries is unusually uniform — a sign that the term carried a stable, settled meaning in Anglo-American law from an early period.
Jurisdictional Note
Louisiana's civilian tradition imposes distinct formalities for wills and uses terminology (notably the "olographic testament" and "notarial testament") that reflects its civil law heritage, though testator itself is used consistently. In common law jurisdictions, the Uniform Probate Code has been adopted in varying forms across states, affecting execution requirements and what renders a testator's instrument valid — meaning the same document might qualify in one state and fail in another.
Encyclopedia Cross-Reference
See Law Mind Encyclopedia: Wills and Testamentary Succession; Testamentary Capacity; Intestate Succession