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Will signing requirements by state

Pick a state. Get the witness count, presence rules, and whether a notary matters for a formal will, in plain English with statute cites.

This checker covers Texas, Florida, California, New York, Tennessee, Illinois, Georgia, Arizona, Ohio, Colorado, North Carolina, Virginia, Washington, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Maryland, Indiana, Oregon, Missouri, Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Carolina, Connecticut, Alabama, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Utah, Nevada, Kansas, Nebraska, Idaho, West Virginia, New Hampshire, New Mexico, South Dakota, Vermont, Rhode Island, and Delaware. Other states link to our estate planning hubs until we expand.

Guides in the LegalZoom and Trust & Will class often paste one national witness script onto every state. The five new cards do not. New Mexico wants two witnesses who watched you sign and then sign in front of you and each other, and it does not count a handwritten will as a will at all. South Dakota wants two witnesses who, in your conscious presence, saw you sign or heard you acknowledge that signature, and who sign in your conscious presence. Vermont wants you to sign in front of two credible witnesses who sign in front of you and each other, and a gift to one of them is voidable, not void, unless two other witnesses signed. Rhode Island wants both witnesses there at the same time when you sign or acknowledge, subscribing in your presence, and a gift to a witness is wiped out as to that witness. Delaware wants two credible witnesses who attest and subscribe in your presence, and it says a will that misses that is void.

Educational summary. Not legal advice. Not a validity stamp.

Do any of your witnesses inherit under the will

Select a state to see witness count, presence rules, notary rules, and the top signing pitfall.

State will guides

Killswitch is not a law firm and does not give legal advice. This page is educational information about state will-signing statutes, not advice about your situation. Laws change. Read the cited sources and talk to a licensed attorney if your estate is complicated (business, trust, fight already in progress, or anything that already has lawyers in it). We put signing instructions on your document in plain English. You still have to follow your state's rules when you sign.

Read our Terms.

Killswitch prints state signing instructions on your document. You still run the ceremony your statute requires. We never claim your will is court-proof because you used our software.

Your high score on Candy Crush isn't an estate plan, Karen.

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