Printable will forms: what actually makes a will valid

A last will and testament is valid in most US states when it is in writing, signed by the testator (or at their direction), and witnessed by two competent witnesses who sign in the testator's presence. Notarization is generally not required for validity — but a notarized self-proving affidavit lets the will be admitted to probate without locating the witnesses years later. The wording of the gifts is what people worry about; the witnesses are what actually invalidates wills.

The four formalities

1. In writing. A printed document. A handwritten (holographic) will is recognized in some states and not others; a video or audio recording is not a will anywhere.

2. Signed by you. At the end of the document, dated.

3. Witnessed. Two witnesses in nearly all states, signing in your presence after watching you sign or acknowledge your signature.

4. Self-proving affidavit (optional, strongly recommended). A short sworn statement signed by you and the witnesses before a notary, confirming the formalities were followed. Without it, your executor may have to track down the witnesses at probate — which, decades later, can mean sworn statements from people who have moved or died.

The interested-witness trap

Do not let a beneficiary — or a beneficiary's spouse — witness your will. In many states an interested witness voids that witness's gift unless there are enough other disinterested witnesses to satisfy the statute. The will itself usually survives; the gift to the person holding the pen does not. Use two neutral adults with no interest in the estate.

Two state-specific traps

Louisiana. Louisiana does not recognize the ordinary witnessed will used in the other 49 states. It requires a notarial testament signed before a notary and two competent witnesses in a prescribed form. A standard will form is likely invalid there.

Spousal elective share. Most states give a surviving spouse the right to claim a statutory share of the estate regardless of what the will says. Disinheriting a spouse is therefore rarely achieved by silence in the document — if that is your intent, it needs specific planning, not a form.

What a complete will contains

1. Revocation of all prior wills and codicils.
2. Executor and alternate. Name a backup; the first choice may predecease you or decline.
3. Guardian for minor children, with an alternate. Without a nomination, a court decides.
4. Specific gifts — named items or sums to named people.
5. The residuary clause. Everything not specifically given. This distributes most estates and is the clause homemade wills most often leave ambiguous or omit.
6. Substitute beneficiaries if someone predeceases you, so gifts do not lapse into an unintended path.
7. Debts and taxes — which assets bear them.
8. Attestation clause and self-proving affidavit.

What the will does not control

• Beneficiary-designated assets. Life insurance, IRAs and 401(k)s pass by designation to whoever is named on the form, regardless of the will. Review those forms after marriage, divorce or a death in the family.
• Jointly held property with survivorship rights, which passes to the surviving owner.
• Assets in a living trust, which pass under the trust terms.

A will is one part of the picture, and often not the part holding the largest asset.

After signing

Keep the original somewhere your executor can find it — probate is granted on the original, and a copy makes the process harder. Tell your executor where it is. Review it after marriage, divorce, a birth, a death, or a move to another state, since formalities and marital-property rules vary.

Draft one that includes the formalities

Our template produces a will for US use with revocation, executor and alternate, guardian and optional testamentary trust for minor children, specific and residuary gifts, substitutions, a witness attestation and a self-proving affidavit — plus warnings when a spouse receives nothing in the residuary, when a beneficiary is used as a witness, and when the governing state is Louisiana.

→ Last Will and Testament

Large or complex estates — business interests, blended families, estate-tax exposure, property in several states — merit an estate attorney rather than any form. Related: power of attorney.