UT · Will guide
Utah will requirements (two witnesses on the formal will)
You're going to die. Utah gives a court two extra ways to argue about a document that missed the formalities. Neither one is the will this product prints.
The product path is Utah Code §75-2-502(1). The will is in writing. You sign it, or another individual signs your name in your conscious presence and by your direction. At least two individuals sign, each within a reasonable time after witnessing the signing or your acknowledgment of that signature or of the will.
Subsection (2) is a holographic will: signature and material portions in your handwriting, no date required by that subsection. Section 75-2-503 is harmless error, proved by clear and convincing evidence, with no March 13, 2020 cutoff in the text. Both stay off the signing instructions. Minnesota has the date cutoff and no holographic subsection. Oklahoma wants the whole holograph in your hand and dated. Utah wrote something else. Read Utah.
The short version
How to sign a will in Utah
Product path is §75-2-502(1) only.
- Put the will in writing.
- Sign it, or have another individual sign your name in your conscious presence and by your direction. Do not swap "conscious presence" for a video call.
- At least two individuals sign within a reasonable time after witnessing the signing or your acknowledgment of that signature or of the will.
They need not watch each other. You need not sign at the end or declare the paper aloud. Those are Oklahoma rules. "Within a reasonable time" is not next year, and it is not Nevada's "subscribe in the presence of the testator." Sections 75-2-506 and 75-2-513 were opened. 506 is choice of law: the will complies with 502 or 503, or with the law of the place of execution, or of the place where at execution or death the testator is domiciled, has a place of abode, or is a national. 513 is a signed list for tangible personal property other than money. It is not a will. Electronic and remote signing: out of scope.
Utah will witnesses
Section 75-2-505(1): an individual generally competent to be a witness may witness. Section 75-2-505(2): an interested witness does not invalidate the will or any provision. Do not import Nevada's void devise or a Missouri forfeiture.
Prefer two people who take nothing. The statute keeps the gift. Each witness still has to see the signing or the acknowledgment, and sign within a reasonable time. They need not sign together.
Does a Utah will need to be notarized
For §75-2-502(1): no.
Section 75-2-504 is optional, at signing or later: your acknowledgment and the witnesses' affidavits before an oath officer, certificate under official seal. The officer may also be a witness. That does not drop the count below two, and it does not make the officer required. The form's "presence and hearing" line is not an extra element of subsection (1), and it is not an each-other rule.
Subsection (3): a signature on a self-proving affidavit attached to the will counts as a signature on the will if necessary to prove due execution. It does not replace a witness.
Utah will mistakes that hurt later
- Selling §75-2-502(2) or §75-2-503 as a way to skip witnesses. The printed will is subsection (1).
- Requiring a date, or every word in pen, on a Utah holograph. Subsection (2) is signature and material portions. It does not say dated or entirely written.
- Cloning Minnesota. Utah has a holographic subsection. Section 75-2-503 has no March 13, 2020 cutoff.
- Purging an interested witness's gift. Section 75-2-505 says the will and any provision survive that signature.
- Counting the notary as a free witness and then finding only one other person. The officer may be a witness. You still need two.
Are holographic wills valid in Utah
Section 75-2-502(2): a will that misses subsection (1) is valid as a holographic will, witnessed or not, if the signature and material portions are in the testator's handwriting. A typed will with only a handwritten signature fails. Do not rewrite this as Oklahoma's entirely-written-and-dated rule, or as Kentucky's wholly-written clause. Subsection (3): intent can be shown by extrinsic evidence, including portions not in the handwriting.
Section 75-2-503 is not that subsection. Clear and convincing evidence can treat a noncompliant document as a will, a revocation, an addition or alteration, or a revival. No date cutoff was in the fetched text. It is a court standard. Killswitch prints subsection (1), with optional §75-2-504.
How Killswitch helps with a Utah will
Killswitch drafts the will and prints §75-2-502(1) instructions: writing, your signature or a conscious-presence proxy, and two witnesses who sign within a reasonable time after they see the signing or hear the acknowledgment. They are not told to watch each other. Subsection (2) and §75-2-503 stay in the FAQ. Section 75-2-505 is stated as a non-purge.
Free to write and read. Pay once for the finished copy. You still get two witnesses. 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.
Check signing requirements by state · Full Utah estate planning hub
Frequently asked questions
How many witnesses does a Utah will need
At least two on the §75-2-502(1) path. Each signs within a reasonable time after witnessing the signing or the acknowledgment of that signature or of the will. They do not have to watch each other.
Does a will need to be notarized in Utah
No. Section 75-2-504 is optional. The oath officer may also be a witness and still does not replace one of the two. A signature on the attached self-proving affidavit can count on the will if necessary to prove execution. The form's "presence and hearing" line is not an extra validity element.
Can a beneficiary witness a Utah will
Yes. An interested witness does not invalidate the will or any provision (§75-2-505).
Are holographic wills valid in Utah
Subsection 75-2-502(2) validates a will if the signature and material portions are in the testator's handwriting, witnessed or not. It does not require a date and does not require every word to be handwritten. That is not the will Killswitch prints.
What is Utah harmless error
Section 75-2-503. Clear and convincing evidence of intent can treat a noncompliant document as a will, a revocation, an addition or alteration, or a revival. The fetched section has no March 13, 2020 date. It is a court finding, not a signing ceremony.
What are sections 75-2-506 and 75-2-513
Choice of law, and a separate signed list for tangible personal property other than money. Neither is the signing ceremony, and 513 is not a holographic will.
Sources
UT will
Start your Utah 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 Utah 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.
