A testator and a testatrix are the same thing: a person who has made a valid will. “Testator” is the standard term, and “testatrix” is the older Latin feminine form used for women. In the testator vs. testatrix comparison, there is no legal difference between the two, and modern estate law has largely dropped “testatrix” in favor of using “testator” for everyone.
Where the Two Words Come From
Both terms are Latin. “Testator” uses the standard masculine ending, and “testatrix” uses the suffix -trix, the Latin marker for a feminine agent. It’s the same pattern behind “executor” and “executrix,” or “aviator” and “aviatrix.” In legal Latin, the distinction was purely grammatical. A testator and a testatrix had identical legal standing. Each was a person who died leaving a valid will.
The label technically attaches after death, once probate begins and the court is working with the finished document. While you’re alive, you’re the person making a will, sometimes called the grantor or the maker in the document itself.
Does the Term Used Change Anything Legally?
No. Whether a will calls its maker a testator, a testatrix, or neither has no bearing on whether the document holds up in probate. Courts look at whether the person had the capacity to make a will and whether it was signed and witnessed correctly. Vocabulary is not on the list of things that can invalidate a will.
The same goes in the other direction. Using “testatrix” in a modern will won’t cause a probate judge to reject it. Archaic language might read as dated, but it won’t sink an estate plan. Terminology choices simply don’t give rise to valid legal challenges.
The most common misunderstanding is that the two words carry different legal weight or affect the rights of people named in the will. They don’t. They are interchangeable labels for the same role, and neither grants nor limits any authority.
Other Gendered Terms You’ll See in Estate Documents
Testator and testatrix aren’t the only pair affected by the shift toward gender-neutral drafting. Estate law historically used several word pairs that modern practice is collapsing into a single term.
Executor and executrix. An executor is the person named in a will to manage the estate after death. “Executrix” is the feminine form. Most jurisdictions now use “executor” for everyone, and many have moved to the entirely gender-neutral “personal representative.”
Administrator and administratrix. When someone dies without a will, the probate court appoints an administrator to handle the estate. “Administratrix” was once used for women in this role. The Uniform Probate Code and many state statutes now use “personal representative” to cover both scenarios, whether the person was named in a will or appointed by a court.
In practical terms, an executor and an administrator do the same work: inventorying assets, paying debts, and distributing property to heirs and beneficiaries. The only real difference is how the person got the role, not their gender.
Why Modern Law Dropped the Distinction
For centuries, legal English imported Latin gender markers wholesale. That started to change in the twentieth century as courts and legislatures recognized that gendered language served no legal purpose and sometimes reflected actual bias in the system.
The Uniform Probate Code, adopted in whole or in part by roughly 18 states, uses “testator” throughout its provisions without any gendered alternative. Its sections on who may make a will, testamentary capacity, and execution requirements all refer to “the testator” regardless of the person’s gender. That approach has influenced drafting well beyond the states that formally adopted the code.
The broader push had a constitutional dimension. In 1971, the Supreme Court decided Reed v. Reed, striking down an Idaho probate statute that said “males must be preferred to females” when equally qualified people applied to administer an estate. The Court held that this mandatory preference was exactly the kind of arbitrary classification the Equal Protection Clause forbids.1Legal Information Institute. Sally M. Reed, Appellant, v. Cecil R. Reed, Administrator Reed didn’t directly address the word “testatrix,” but it put the legal profession on notice that gender-based distinctions in estate law needed substantive justification. The shift to gender-neutral terminology accelerated from there.
Today, most attorneys draft wills using “testator” for all clients. Bar associations and continuing legal education programs reinforce the convention. You may still see “testatrix” in older documents or in jurisdictions that haven’t updated their forms, but the direction is overwhelmingly toward a single term.
What to Do If You See Either Term
If you’re reading a will and see “testatrix,” it means exactly what “testator” means. If you’re drafting or reviewing a new will and wondering which to use, “testator” is the modern default and works for anyone. If you’re a beneficiary or a family member trying to understand a document that uses the older form, you can treat the two words as fully equivalent for every legal purpose that matters.