Wills by state
Almost every state asks for the same two things — an adult of sound mind, and two witnesses. The differences that actually invalidate wills are in the details: who may witness, whether a handwritten will counts, and what your executor must prove in court.
Midwest
- IllinoisCommon law (separate property) stateIllinois treats a properly witnessed will as effectively self-proved without a separate affidavit, and it has its own electronic wills statute — but it does not recognize handwritten wills at all.
- IndianaCommon law (separate property) stateIndiana voids a gift to a witness only where the will cannot be proved without that witness, and it allows members of the armed forces and merchant marine to make a will under 18.
- IowaCommon law (separate property) stateIowa voids a gift to a witness unless two disinterested witnesses signed, capping the witness at their intestate share, and it does not recognize handwritten wills.
- KansasCommon law (separate property) stateKansas has no holographic will statute at all — a handwritten document must satisfy the ordinary formalities like any other will — and it voids a beneficial devise to a witness unless two other disinterested witnesses subscribed.
- MichiganCommon law (separate property) stateMichigan replaced its financial power of attorney rules with the Uniform Power of Attorney Act effective July 1, 2024, and it recognizes handwritten wills provided they are dated as well as signed.
- MinnesotaCommon law (separate property) stateMinnesota adopted the Uniform Probate Code's interested-witness provision verbatim, so a beneficiary who witnesses keeps the gift in full — but it does not recognize handwritten wills at all.
- MissouriCommon law (separate property) stateMissouri caps a witness-beneficiary at their intestate share unless two disinterested witnesses signed, allows emancipated minors to make a will, and does not recognize handwritten wills.
- NebraskaCommon law (separate property) stateNebraska takes a middle path on interested witnesses: the will stands and the gift is not wiped out, but without a disinterested witness the beneficiary keeps only what they would have inherited anyway.
- North DakotaCommon law (separate property) stateNorth Dakota lets a notarized acknowledgment stand in for witnesses entirely, and it has adopted the Uniform Electronic Wills Act.
- OhioCommon law (separate property) stateOhio is one of only two US jurisdictions without self-proving affidavits — it uses a different mechanism entirely, letting a court admit a will without live witness testimony or letting you have the will declared valid while you are still alive.
- South DakotaCommon law with opt-in community propertySouth Dakota follows the Uniform Probate Code on interested witnesses, recognizes handwritten wills, and is one of a small group of states where couples can opt into community property treatment.
- WisconsinCommunity property stateWisconsin is the only Midwestern community property state, holding marital property under the Uniform Marital Property Act, and it caps a witness-beneficiary's gift at their intestate share.
Northeast
- ConnecticutCommon law (separate property) stateConnecticut voids a gift not only to a witness but to that witness's spouse, and it is one of the few states to extend the interested-witness purge that far.
- DelawareCommon law (separate property) stateDelaware requires two or more credible witnesses and asks for a sound and disposing mind and memory, a slightly fuller capacity formulation than most states use — but it does not accept handwritten wills.
- MaineCommon law (separate property) stateMaine is a Uniform Probate Code state that imposes no penalty on interested witnesses, accepts a notarized will as an alternative to witnessing, and recognizes handwritten wills.
- MassachusettsCommon law (separate property) stateMassachusetts voids a gift to a witness or their spouse unless two other non-benefited witnesses signed — but uniquely lets the witness save the gift by proving there was no fraud or undue influence, and it has no living-will statute at all.
- New HampshireCommon law (separate property) stateNew Hampshire expressly prohibits electronic wills, does not recognize handwritten ones, and voids a gift to a witness without the intestate-share saving clause most purging states provide.
- New JerseyCommon law (separate property) stateNew Jersey can save a document that fails the formalities entirely — its harmless error doctrine lets a court admit a writing intended as a will even when it was not properly executed.
- New YorkCommon law (separate property) stateNew York's supernumerary rule saves a gift to a witness when a third disinterested witness signed, and its Electronic Wills Act has been enacted but does not take effect until June 2027.
- PennsylvaniaCommon law (separate property) statePennsylvania requires no attesting witnesses at all when you sign at the end of the will — the most unusual execution rule in the country, though two witnesses must still prove your signature at probate.
- Rhode IslandCommon law (separate property) stateRhode Island has the harshest interested-witness rule in the country — a gift to an attesting witness is utterly null and void, with no intestate-share saving clause to fall back on.
- VermontCommon law (separate property) stateVermont voids a gift to a subscribing witness or their spouse unless two other disinterested witnesses signed, and its self-proving affidavit rules appear to have changed recently after decades without them.
South
- AlabamaCommon law (separate property) stateAlabama follows the Uniform Probate Code, so a beneficiary who signs as a witness keeps their inheritance — but a handwritten will made in Alabama will not be accepted.
- ArkansasCommon law (separate property) stateArkansas requires you to sign at the end of the will, and a handwritten will needs three credible witnesses to prove the handwriting — more than the two needed for an ordinary will.
- FloridaCommon law with opt-in community propertyFlorida is unusually strict on execution — you sign at the end, and both witnesses must sign in your presence and in each other's presence — but it recognizes electronic wills and does not penalize interested witnesses.
- GeorgiaCommon law (separate property) stateGeorgia sets the lowest will-making age in the country at 14, and its witnesses may also be as young as 14 — but it purges gifts to witness-beneficiaries with no intestate saving clause.
- KentuckyCommon law with opt-in community propertyKentucky voids a gift to a witness unless that witness would have inherited anyway, in which case they keep up to their intestate share — and it recognizes wills written entirely in your own hand.
- LouisianaCommunity property stateLouisiana is the only civil-law jurisdiction in the United States and the only state that requires a notary at execution — a will signed before two witnesses alone, valid everywhere else, is not a valid Louisiana testament.
- MarylandCommon law (separate property) stateMaryland changed its approach to proving wills in 2023, and it recognizes handwritten wills only for members of the armed forces — with those wills expiring a year after discharge.
- MississippiCommon law (separate property) stateMississippi recognizes handwritten wills that are wholly written, dated and signed in your own hand, and it caps a witness-beneficiary's gift at their intestate share.
- North CarolinaCommon law (separate property) stateNorth Carolina voids a gift not only to an interested witness but to that witness's spouse, and it recognizes handwritten wills only if they are found among your valuable papers after death.
- OklahomaCommon law (separate property) stateOklahoma requires witnesses to sign at your request, voids gifts to a subscribing witness unless two other witnesses signed, and has adopted uniform legislation on electronic estate planning documents.
- South CarolinaCommon law (separate property) stateSouth Carolina caps a witness-beneficiary's gift at their intestate share rather than voiding it, and it will accept a handwritten will only if it was valid in the state where it was executed.
- TennesseeCommon law with opt-in community propertyTennessee recognizes handwritten wills but requires two witnesses to the handwriting itself, and it is one of a handful of states where couples can opt into community property treatment.
- TexasCommunity property stateTexas sets its witness age minimum at 14 rather than 18, recognizes handwritten wills that can themselves be self-proved, and is the largest community property state.
- the District of ColumbiaCommon law (separate property) stateDC is one of only two US jurisdictions where self-proving affidavits are not available — your witnesses may actually have to testify at probate — though it does authorize electronic wills.
- VirginiaCommon law (separate property) stateVirginia imposes no penalty at all on a beneficiary who signs as a witness, and it recognizes handwritten wills provided two disinterested witnesses can prove the handwriting.
- West VirginiaCommon law (separate property) stateWest Virginia recognizes handwritten wills and voids a gift to a witness only where the will cannot otherwise be proved — a narrower purge than most states apply.
West
- AlaskaCommon law with opt-in community propertyAlaska accepts handwritten wills and imposes no penalty on interested witnesses, and it is one of a handful of states where couples can opt into community property treatment.
- ArizonaCommunity property stateArizona is a community property state that recognizes both handwritten and electronic wills, and it uses two separate small-estate thresholds — one for personal property, another for real property.
- CaliforniaCommunity property stateCalifornia does not use self-proving affidavits because a properly executed will is already treated as self-proved, and instead of purging a witness-beneficiary's gift it applies a rebuttable presumption of undue influence.
- ColoradoCommon law (separate property) stateColorado is one of very few states where a notarized will needs no witnesses at all — notarization is a genuine substitute rather than an add-on — and it recognizes both handwritten and electronic wills.
- HawaiiCommon law (separate property) stateHawaii will not accept a handwritten will made here, but it does accept one that was valid where it was executed — a meaningful distinction in a state where many residents arrive from elsewhere.
- IdahoCommunity property stateIdaho is a community property state that also recognizes handwritten wills and has adopted the Uniform Electronic Wills Act — an unusual combination of traditional property rules and modern execution options.
- MontanaCommon law (separate property) stateMontana adopted the Uniform Probate Code's interested-witness provision word for word, so a beneficiary who signs as a witness keeps their gift in full.
- NevadaCommunity property stateNevada was the first state in the country to authorize electronic wills, back in 2001, and it is also a community property state that recognizes handwritten wills.
- New MexicoCommunity property stateNew Mexico combines community property with an unusually strict rule on handwritten wills — it does not recognize them at all, despite most of its neighbours doing so.
- OregonCommon law (separate property) stateOregon states its interested-witness rule about as plainly as a statute can — a will attested by an interested witness is not thereby invalidated — but it does not recognize handwritten wills at all.
- UtahCommon law (separate property) stateUtah lets a notarized acknowledgment stand in for witnesses entirely, recognizes handwritten wills, and has adopted the Uniform Electronic Wills Act — one of the most permissive execution regimes in the country.
- WashingtonCommunity property stateWashington is a community property state that, like California, replaces the usual purge with a rebuttable presumption that a gift to a witness was procured by duress or undue influence.
- WyomingCommon law (separate property) stateWyoming raised its small-estate threshold to one of the highest in the country effective July 1, 2025, meaning many estates that would need full probate elsewhere can be handled by affidavit here.
These pages are general information, not legal advice, and they are not a substitute for an attorney licensed in your state. Statutes change and dollar thresholds are often adjusted for inflation — where a figure moves, we say so rather than printing a number you might rely on after it is stale. Legacy Suite is not a law firm.