Does a will have to state "free and clear"?

The Will does not HAVE to state that a house is to be distributed free and clear, but if the intent is that the mortgage on the house be paid off before it is distributed to the specified recipient, then the Will ideally SHOULD make that clear. I would actually not rely simply on the "free and clear" language, but it would be better than nothing addressing the mortgage at all. If the Will just provides for the house to be distributed to a certain person and does NOT specify whether the property is supposed to remain subject to the debt or whether the debt is supposed to be paid off, then a question regarding that issue is created, and the house will potentially end up being distributed subject to the mortgage, depending on the law of the state which controls and how the Will is to be interpreted under that law. Wills should be as clear as possible about issues like this - that's one problem with very short Wills or those which are written in what's often referred to as "plain English." Everyday language is full of potentially ambiguous phrases and terms. In daily life, those may not create problems, because context helps and you can ask for clarification when needed. In a Will, where the person who is really speaking is dead and can't clarify what he meant, and the context is not known, these ambiguous terms and phrases often create messes.