Personal Property Memorandum Requirements in Idaho

Short answer Yes. Idaho Code § 15-2-513 allows a will to refer to a written statement or list for eligible tangible personal property; the writing must be handwritten by the testator or signed by the testator and must describe the items and devisees with reasonable certainty. It may be prepared before or after the will and altered later, but the statute states no date, witness, notarization, filing, or competing-writing priority rule.

State

Idaho

Statute checked

August 11, 2026

Sources

1 statute

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At a glance

Governing law and device recognized	Yes—written statement or list under Idaho Code § 15-2-513
Will reference required	Yes; the will must refer to the statement or list and may describe it as one to exist at the testator's death (§ 15-2-513)
Eligible property and exclusions	Tangible personal property not otherwise specifically disposed of; excludes money, debt evidence, title documents, securities, and trade-or-business property. No value cap (§ 15-2-513)
Signature, handwriting, and date	Handwritten by or signed by testator; no date, signature-placement, witness, or notarization rule stated (§ 15-2-513)
Item and devisee identification	Items and devisees must be described with reasonable certainty (§ 15-2-513)
Timing before or after the will	May be prepared before or after will execution and may have no significance apart from the testamentary disposition (§ 15-2-513)
Alteration, replacement, and conflict priority	Testator may alter the writing after preparation; no special alteration formality or competing-writing priority rule stated (§ 15-2-513)
Probate use, effect, and failure consequence	Compliant writing is admissible as evidence of intended disposition; no separate filing, delivery, lapse, or residuary rule stated (§ 15-2-513)

Requirements one by one

The will and eligible property

Idaho Code § 15-2-513 permits a will to refer to a written statement or list for tangible personal property that the will does not otherwise specifically dispose of. The will may refer to a writing that will exist at the testator's death.

The device excludes money, evidences of indebtedness, documents of title, securities, and property used in trade or business. The section states no per- item or aggregate value ceiling.

Execution and identification

The writing must either be in the testator's handwriting or be signed by the testator. It also must describe the items and devisees with reasonable certainty.

The section states no date, signature-placement, witness, or notarization condition for the separate writing.

Timing and later alteration

The writing may be prepared before or after execution of the will, may be altered after preparation, and may have no significance apart from its effect on the will's disposition.

Section 15-2-513 does not prescribe a special method for an alteration or say that the newest of multiple writings controls an inconsistency.

Evidentiary effect

A writing that satisfies § 15-2-513 is admissible as evidence of the intended disposition. The section states no separate probate filing or delivery procedure and no lapse, predeceased-recipient, or residuary rule.

What trips people up

Handwriting and signature are alternatives. A writing in the testator's handwriting need not also be signed under the section's text.

The statute permits later alteration but does not create a blanket rule that a newer list automatically controls an older one. It also does not require every change to be initialed or dated.

Common questions

Must the writing be dated?

Section 15-2-513 states no dating condition. It requires the testator's handwriting or signature and reasonably certain descriptions of the items and devisees.

Can the writing be created after the will is signed?

Yes. It may be prepared before or after execution of the will, and the will may refer to one that will exist at the testator's death.

Can the writing be changed later?

Yes. The testator may alter it after preparation. The statute does not specify a separate initialing, re-signing, or re-dating process for each alteration.

Must witnesses or a notary sign?

No witness or notary condition appears in § 15-2-513. The execution choices are the testator's handwriting or signature.

Statutes and sources

Idaho Code § 15-2-513 — will reference, property scope and exclusions, handwriting or signature, identification, timing, alteration, independent significance, and admissibility. Idaho Legislature: https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/Title15/T15CH2/SECT15-2-513/ (accessed 2026-08-11).

Source links

Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.

Idaho Code § 15-2-513 · accessed 2026-08-11

This page is general legal information about a will-referenced separate writing for tangible personal property, not legal, tax, valuation, title, firearms, marital-property, ownership, probate, or estate-planning advice about a particular will, writing, person, item, transfer, or estate. The device's availability and effect can depend on the will's exact reference, whether the will remains operative, the property's character and value, the writing's handwriting, signature placement and date, identification of items and recipients, later changes, competing writings, capacity, ownership, and post-death filing or proof. A writing that works in one state may fail in another, and it does not replace required title or transfer procedures. Verified against the cited official sources on the date shown; obtain prompt advice from a licensed estate-planning or probate attorney before preparing, changing, relying on, or administering a personal property memorandum.

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