CT · Will guide
Connecticut will requirements (two witnesses, each in your presence)
You're going to die. Connecticut will not accept a voice memo as a will, and it has not required three witnesses since 1971. C.G.S. §45a-251 says a will or codicil is not valid to pass property unless it is in writing, subscribed by you, and attested by two witnesses, each of them subscribing in your presence.
Count and presence are the whole ceremony. Two, not three. Each witness subscribes while you are there. The statute text does not say they must subscribe in each other's presence. An annotation on the legislature's own page of §45a-251 cites 43 Conn. 85 for that point. This guide uses the annotation as the official page's note. It does not brief the case.
Connecticut also has no UPC self-proving package in chapter 802a. Sections 45a-252 through 45a-256 are reserved. If you want paper a probate court can read without putting every witness on the stand, look at §45a-285. That section is a proof affidavit. It is not a self-proving will, and calling it one is how this state gets cloned into Massachusetts.
The short version
How to sign a will in Connecticut
Age and capacity are one sentence. Any person 18 or older, and of sound mind, may dispose of an estate by will (§45a-250). Then the ceremony in §45a-251:
- Will or codicil in writing.
- Subscribed by the testator.
- Attested by two witnesses, each of them subscribing in the testator's presence.
"Subscribed by the testator" is the statute's verb. Connecticut courts have read "subscribed" to mean signed at the end. That reading is case law. VERIFY. This page does not state "you must sign at the end" as if §45a-251's text said "at the end." The text says subscribed. If placement is the fight, read the opinion. Do not build the differentiator of this guide on an unverified case name. The fetched text of §45a-251 also does not authorize someone else to sign for you. Do not invent a proxy path from Missouri or Wisconsin. VERIFY if a later supplement adds one. The current published chapter, re-read for this packet, still has no proxy sentence. See the CT-SUP note above. Each witness subscribes in your presence. Both of them. The statute does not add "and in the presence of each other." The legislature's annotation on the same page says it is unnecessary that the witnesses subscribe in each other's presence, citing 43 Conn. 85. Treat that as the official annotation. Do not write a case comment. Do not clone Massachusetts, where a witness can rely on acknowledgment and the timing is a different code. Connecticut's fetched validity sentence is subscription in the testator's presence, not acknowledgment-later as a substitute. The second clause of §45a-251 is a savings rule, not a second product: a will executed according to the laws of the state or country where it was executed may be admitted in Connecticut and can pass Connecticut property. FAQ only. It does not let a Connecticut resident make an unwitnessed will in Connecticut and call it foreign. If the FAQ needs the limit, §45a-288(b) says nothing in that recording section gives effect to a will made in this state by a resident of this state which was not executed according to Connecticut law. Recording a will that was proved somewhere else is not a trick for skipping §45a-251 on a will you made at home. An annotation on §45a-251 says an oral or nuncupative will is invalid under the former section. This page does not build an essay on spoken wills. The product path is the witnessed writing. Electronic and remote wills: out of scope / VERIFY. Not in §45a-251 as fetched. The chapter page tells readers to check the 2026 Supplement, revised to January 1, 2026, for 2025-session changes. The operative sentences used here were re-read on the current chapter pages. Guessed supplement URLs 404'd. If a supplement you are holding changes §45a-251, follow the supplement.
Connecticut will witnesses
Two witnesses. Each subscribes in your presence. The 1971 history line on the official page is the reason old family lore still says three. Current law is two. A will that uses two competent witnesses is not short a witness because a 1960s form had a third line.
Interest is harsh, and it is specific. Under §45a-258, every devise or bequest to a subscribing witness, or to the husband or wife of that witness, is void unless the will or codicil is legally attested without the signature of that witness, or unless that devisee or legatee is an heir of the testator.
Read the "unless" clauses narrowly.
"Legally attested without the signature of such witness" means the will still has a valid attestation when you ignore that witness's name. With only two witnesses, you cannot ignore one of them and still have two. A beneficiary who is one of your only two witnesses is not in this savings clause. Add disinterested witnesses until the will is fully attested without the interested signature, or do not let that person (and do not let their spouse) witness.
"Unless such devisee or legatee is an heir of the testator" is the other savings clause. Heir is the word in the statute. An annotation on the old section noted that a devise to an heir did not have to match the intestate share. This page does not expand heir into "close family is always fine," and it does not restate intestate-heir definitions from memory. If you are not sure a person is an heir, do not use them as a witness for a gift you care about. Ask a Connecticut lawyer. The educational point is the word heir, not a family-tree slogan.
The witness stays competent either way. Section 45a-258 says the competency of the witness is not affected by the devise or bequest. The gift is what fails. That is harsher than Minnesota, which does not invalidate any provision, and it is a different formula from Missouri, Wisconsin, and South Carolina, which talk about the excess over intestacy. Do not paste those formulas onto §45a-258. Connecticut voids the devise or bequest, subject to the two unless clauses. It does not say "excess over intestacy" in this section.
Last sentence of §45a-258: a witness's interest in a community, church, society, association, or corporation that is beneficially interested in a devise or bequest does not affect that devise or bequest, or the witness's competency. Your church can take, and you can still witness, without this section voiding the church's gift because you are a member. A gift to you personally is the problem. A gift to the institution is a different sentence.
Does a will need to be notarized in Connecticut
For validity under §45a-251: no. Two witnesses subscribing in your presence. No notary.
Do not label Connecticut a self-proving-will state. Chapter 802a reserved §§45a-252 to 45a-256. There is no UPC two-step self-proving package sitting in that gap.
Section 45a-285 is in the probate procedure chapter, and its title is "Proof of will out of court." Any or all of the attesting witnesses may, at your request, or after your death at the request of the executor or any person interested, make and sign an affidavit before an officer authorized to administer oaths in or out of this state. The affidavit states the facts they would have to testify to in court to prove the will. It is written on the will or, if that is impracticable, on paper attached to it. The Court of Probate accepts the sworn statement as if it had been taken before the court.
That is probate proof. It can save a trip. It is not what makes the will valid, and it is not the self-proving will brand used in Missouri §474.337, Wisconsin §853.04, Minnesota §524.2-504, or South Carolina §62-2-503. A notary on a §45a-285 affidavit does not replace either witness. You can skip the affidavit entirely and still have a valid will if §45a-251 was done. You cannot skip the witnesses because you found a notary.
Connecticut will mistakes that hurt later
- "Connecticut still needs three witnesses." The 1971 act cut attestation from three to two. The current text of §45a-251 says two.
- Calling §45a-285 a self-proving will. It is an out-of-court proof affidavit. Chapter 802a does not contain a UPC self-proving section.
- A beneficiary witness, or the beneficiary's spouse as witness, without the §45a-258 frame. The devise or bequest is void unless the will is legally attested without that signature, or unless that devisee or legatee is an heir. Spouse of the witness is inside the void rule even when the spouse takes and the witness does not.
- Stating that the testator must sign at the end as if the statute said "at the end." Section 45a-251 says subscribed. The end-placement reading is case law and stays VERIFY. Do not print it as statute text.
- Cloning a Massachusetts acknowledgment ceremony. Connecticut's fetched rule is that each witness subscribes in the testator's presence. Do not swap in acknowledgment-later as the validity path.
- Inventing a proxy signature. The fetched §45a-251 text does not say another person may sign for you.
Are holographic wills valid in Connecticut
The first clause of §45a-251 does not validate an unwitnessed holographic will executed as a Connecticut will. Writing, your subscription, two witnesses, each subscribing in your presence. Handwriting does not delete the witnesses.
The second clause can admit a will that was executed according to the law of the state or country where it was executed, and that will can pass Connecticut property. That is a savings rule for a will that already met some other place's law. It is not an in-state holographic path. For a will made in this state by a resident of this state, §45a-288(b) says the out-of-state recording section does not give the will effect if it was not executed according to Connecticut law. Do not plan on "prove it somewhere else" as a way around §45a-251 for a will you signed at home.
Killswitch signing instructions target the witnessed writing in §45a-251. They call §45a-285 a proof affidavit when they mention it at all. They do not call it a self-proving will.
How Killswitch helps with a Connecticut will
Killswitch drafts the will and prints signing instructions for two witnesses, each subscribing in your presence. The sheet does not ask for a third witness because a 1971 repeal is older than the template someone emailed you. It does not tell you the statute requires a signature "at the end." The statute word on the sheet is subscribed.
If a witness or a witness's spouse is also a beneficiary, the instructions quote the §45a-258 problem in ordinary words: the gift is void unless the will is still validly attested without that signature, or unless that person is an heir. They do not borrow Minnesota's no-purge rule or South Carolina's excess-over-intestacy math.
Free to write and read. Pay once for the finished copy. You still run the ceremony. We do not notarize. We are not your lawyer.
Free to write and read. Pay once for the finished copy. Signing instructions for your state print on the document.
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Frequently asked questions
How many witnesses for a Connecticut will
Two. Under C.G.S. §45a-251, a will or codicil is not valid to pass property unless it is in writing, subscribed by the testator, and attested by two witnesses, each subscribing in the testator's presence. The 1971 act changed the count from three to two. The statute says subscribed. It does not say "at the end." Courts have read subscribed as signed at the end. That reading is VERIFY and is not statute text.
Does a will need to be notarized in Connecticut
No. A notary is not required for validity under §45a-251. An officer who can administer oaths is used only if a witness makes the optional proof affidavit under §45a-285.
What is a Connecticut will witness affidavit
Section 45a-285 lets any or all attesting witnesses make an affidavit, at the testator's request or after death at the request of the executor or another interested person, before an officer authorized to administer oaths in or out of this state. The affidavit states the facts they would testify to in court, and it is written on the will or attached. The probate court accepts it as if taken before the court. It is proof. It is not a UPC self-proving will, and it is not a validity requirement.
Can a beneficiary witness a Connecticut will
The witness stays competent. Under §45a-258, a devise or bequest to a subscribing witness, or to that witness's husband or wife, is void unless the will is legally attested without that witness's signature, or unless that devisee or legatee is an heir of the testator. With only two witnesses, dropping the interested signature leaves the will short. A membership interest in a church, society, association, corporation, or community that receives a gift does not void that institutional gift.
Are holographic wills valid in Connecticut
Section 45a-251 does not validate an unwitnessed holographic will made as a Connecticut will. A will executed under the law of the place where it was executed may be admitted under the second clause of §45a-251. That savings rule is not an in-state holographic product. Section 45a-288(b) blocks using the out-of-state recording section to give effect to a will made in this state by a resident of this state if Connecticut formalities were skipped.
Do Connecticut witnesses have to sign in front of each other
Section 45a-251 requires each witness to subscribe in the testator's presence. It does not say they must subscribe in each other's presence. An annotation on the official section page cites 43 Conn. 85 for that point. This page does not brief the case.
Sources
CT will
Start your Connecticut will in plain English.
Free to write and read. Pay once for the finished copy. Signing instructions for your state print on the document.
Killswitch is not a law firm and does not give legal advice. This page is educational information about Connecticut 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.
