Wealthy PotHow to Make a Will: Steps and Signing Rules in Every State
A will is valid when it meets your state's signing rules, and those are simpler than most people think: in almost every state you need to be 18, put it in writing, sign it, and have two witnesses sign too. No lawyer and no notary are required by law, though a notary lets you add a self-proving affidavit that makes probate easier. This guide walks through the steps, what to include, and the signing rules we checked for all 50 states and DC, including where handwritten and electronic wills are allowed.
Table of Contents
The Short Answer
- Age: 18 in 48 states and DC. Georgia allows 14 and Louisiana 16, and several states allow married or emancipated minors.
- Witnesses: two in every state except Pennsylvania, which needs none to sign but two to prove the will later. Colorado and North Dakota accept a notary instead. Louisiana requires a notary plus two witnesses for a typed will.
- Use witnesses who inherit nothing. In many states a gift to a witness is void or cut back.
- Notary: not needed for a typical will, but signing a self-proving affidavit before a notary (available in all but California, Maryland, Ohio and DC for paper wills) saves your family a step in probate.
- Handwritten wills with no witnesses are valid in 27 states. Electronic wills are allowed in 15 states and DC.
Your State's Signing Rules
How to Make a Will in 9 Steps
- List what you own and owe: home, accounts, vehicles, valuables, debts. Note which already have a beneficiary or co-owner, because those pass outside the will.
- Decide who gets what. Name people clearly, and name backups in case someone dies before you.
- Choose an executor (and an alternate) to settle your estate.
- Choose a guardian for children under 18, and an alternate.
- Decide how money for young beneficiaries is held, for example in a trust or custodial account until a set age.
- Write the will. Use a lawyer, reputable software, or a statutory will form if your state has one. Say clearly that it revokes earlier wills.
- Sign it with your state's formalities: in front of two adult witnesses who are not beneficiaries, who then sign too. Check your state above.
- Add a self-proving affidavit, signed by you and the witnesses before a notary, where your state allows it.
- Store it safely and tell your executor where it is.
What to Put in Your Will
- Your name, address and a statement that this is your will and revokes earlier wills.
- Your executor and an alternate.
- A guardian for minor children. In states that follow the Uniform Probate Code, a parent "may appoint by will a guardian of an unmarried minor" (for example Arizona Revised Statutes 14-5202).
- Specific gifts (a car, jewelry, a sum of money) and who gets the rest (the "residue").
- Backup beneficiaries.
- Instructions for money left to children, such as a trust until age 25.
- Your signature, the date and the witnesses' signatures.
What a Will Cannot Do
- Override beneficiary designations. 401(k)s, IRAs, life insurance and payable-on-death accounts go to the named beneficiary regardless of your will. Keep them up to date.
- Pass jointly owned property with survivorship rights; the co-owner takes it.
- Avoid probate. Property in your name alone goes through probate unless it is under your state's small estate limit. To skip it, see living trusts and transfer on death deeds.
- Cover your care while alive. For that you need a durable power of attorney and a health care directive (see estate planning basics).
Handwritten and Electronic Wills
Handwritten (holographic) wills are valid without witnesses in 27 states, usually if the signature and the important parts are in your handwriting. Eight more accept one only if it was valid where it was written, and Maryland and New York allow them only for members of the armed forces (and, in New York, mariners at sea). Florida does not accept them at all. A handwritten will is better than none, but it is easier to challenge.
Electronic wills (signed and stored digitally) are allowed in 15 states and DC: Arizona, Colorado, DC, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky (since July 2026), Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri (since August 2025), Nevada, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Utah and Washington. New York's law takes effect December 12, 2027. Wisconsin and Wyoming allow remote witnessing by video but have no electronic will law.
Will Requirements by State
Each row links to the statute we read. "Self-proving" means the state lets you and your witnesses sign an affidavit before a notary (or a similar witness affidavit) so the will can be accepted in probate without witnesses testifying.
Do It Yourself, Online or With a Lawyer?
Doing it yourself or online is reasonable for a simple situation: you leave everything to a spouse or split it among children, you have no business, and no one is likely to contest it. The key is signing it correctly under your state's rules.
A lawyer is worth it if you have a blended family, a child with special needs, a business, property in several states, a large estate, or expect a challenge. Some states put a fill-in statutory will form in their code; it is limited but valid when signed properly.
After You Sign: Storing and Updating
- Keep the original somewhere safe that your executor can reach, such as a fireproof box at home or with your lawyer. Ask your county probate court whether it accepts wills for safekeeping.
- Don't write on a signed will. Handwritten changes can be invalid or can be read as revoking it. Make a new will or a properly signed codicil.
- How a will is revoked: under the Uniform Probate Code, by a later will that revokes it, or by burning, tearing or destroying it with that intent (for example Arizona 14-2507).
- Review it after life changes: marriage, divorce, a birth, a death or a move to another state. In Uniform Probate Code states a divorce automatically revokes gifts to the former spouse in your will (for example Arizona 14-2804), but don't rely on that; update it.
What Happens Without a Will
State intestacy law decides who inherits, and a court picks the administrator and any guardian for your children. Typically a spouse and children come first, then parents and siblings. The rules can surprise people: in Arizona, for example, if you leave a spouse and children from another relationship, your spouse receives one-half of your separate property and none of your half of the community property; the rest goes to your children (Arizona 14-2102). Unmarried partners generally inherit nothing.
Sources & Methodology
We read the will execution statutes for each state and DC, on the official legislature website where reachable and otherwise on archived copies of the official site or the Justia code compilation (2024-2025), and checked recent electronic wills laws. Each row in the table links to the statute. General rules are illustrated with Arizona's version of the Uniform Probate Code: 14-2501 (age), 14-2502 (execution), 14-2504 (self-proved wills), 14-2507 (revocation), 14-2804 (divorce), 14-2102 (intestacy) and 14-5202 (guardians).
Limits of this check: where the official site blocked access we relied on archived or compiled copies, so a 2026 change could be missing; "no electronic wills" in some states rests on the code's section list and bill searches. Rules on interested witnesses differ widely, so we show the safe practice (use witnesses who inherit nothing) rather than each state's rule.
This article is educational and is not legal advice. A will that is not signed correctly may be invalid; if your situation is complex, have an estate planning attorney in your state prepare or review it. Laws were checked on 2026-10-13.
FAQ
Does a will need to be notarized?
No, except Louisiana's notarial will. Notarizing a self-proving affidavit is optional but makes probate easier. In Colorado and North Dakota a notary can stand in for the witnesses.
Can a family member witness my will?
Legally yes in many states, but use witnesses who inherit nothing. In many states a gift to a witness is void or limited, and Arizona bars beneficiaries and their relatives from witnessing unless the will is self-proved.
Is a handwritten will legal?
In 27 states, yes, without witnesses, usually if the signature and key parts are in your handwriting. In the rest, a handwritten will still needs witnesses like any other.
Can I make a will online?
You can prepare it online almost anywhere, but in most states you must still print it and sign it in front of witnesses. A fully electronic will is valid only in the 15 states and DC that allow them.
How much does a will cost?
Little or nothing if you use a state form or write it yourself, more with software or a lawyer. The bigger cost is getting it wrong, so follow the signing rules exactly.
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"How to Make a Will: Steps and Signing Rules in Every State." Wealthy Pot, 2026. https://wealthypot.com/how-to-make-a-will/
