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Alabama Will Requirements
Support GuideAlabama10 min read

Alabama Will Requirements

Alabama will requirements explained: the 18-and-sound-mind rule, two-witness signing, self-proving affidavits, and why handwritten wills are not valid in Alabama.

By Settled Editorial

Alabama will requirements come down to a short list of rules in the Probate Code, and most people want one answer first: what makes a will valid here. In Alabama, the maker (the testator) must be at least 18 and of sound mind, the will must be in writing and signed by the testator (or by someone else in the testator's presence and at the testator's direction), and at least two witnesses must sign it, each of whom watched the testator sign or heard the testator acknowledge the signature or the will. Alabama does not recognize unwitnessed handwritten (holographic) wills, and it lets a will be made self-proving so witnesses do not have to testify at probate. (See Ala. Code 43-8-131 and Ala. Code 43-8-130.)

Use this page as a planning map, not as legal advice or a do-it-yourself signing kit. Alabama probate courts apply these statutes to the exact facts of each will, and a small signing mistake can put a will at risk. When property, a blended family, or a possible dispute is involved, confirm your plan with a licensed Alabama attorney before you sign.

This guide pairs with the Alabama probate guide for what happens after death, and with the Alabama executor duties guide for how a personal representative proves authority once a will is admitted.

Who Can Make a Will in Alabama

The capacity rule is one sentence in the Code: any person 18 or more years of age who is of sound mind may make a will. (Source: Ala. Code 43-8-130.)

Two points deserve attention:

  • Age 18, even though Alabama adulthood starts at 19. Alabama's general age of majority is 19, not 18. (Source: Ala. Code 26-1-1.) The will statute is an exception: an 18-year-old can make a valid Alabama will.
  • Sound mind. The maker must understand, in a general way, that he or she is making a will, the nature and extent of his or her property, and the people who would normally receive it. Capacity is judged at the moment of signing. A later illness does not undo a will that was validly made while the testator had capacity.

The Core Signing Rules

For every Alabama will, the execution statute sets three linked requirements. (Source: Ala. Code 43-8-131.)

  1. Writing. The will must be in writing. Alabama gives no general path for oral wills, so do not rely on spoken wishes.
  2. The testator's signature. The testator must sign the will, or another person may sign the testator's name in the testator's presence and at the testator's direction.
  3. Two witness signatures. At least two persons must sign the will, and each of them must have witnessed either the signing or the testator's acknowledgment of the signature or of the will.

Alabama's witness rule is slightly more forgiving than some states. The statute does not require both witnesses to be in the room at the same moment; each witness only has to see the signing or hear the testator acknowledge the signature or the will, and then sign. Even so, the safest practice is one sitting: testator and both witnesses together, everyone signing in everyone's presence. That keeps the facts simple if anyone ever challenges the will, and it matches the recitals in the self-proving affidavit form.

A practical reassurance: Alabama does not require a will to be notarized to be valid. Notarization only matters for the optional self-proving affidavit described below. A will signed by the testator and two competent witnesses is valid without a notary.

Handwritten (Holographic) Wills Are Not Valid in Alabama

Some states accept a will wholly in the testator's own handwriting with no witnesses. Alabama is not one of them. The execution statute requires two witness signatures for every will, and the Probate Code contains no holographic exception, so an unwitnessed handwritten will signed in Alabama fails. (Source: Ala. Code 43-8-131.)

One narrow path exists for wills made elsewhere. Under Alabama's choice-of-law rule, a written will is valid if its execution complied with the law of the place where it was executed, or with the law of the place where the testator was domiciled, had a place of abode, or was a national at execution or at death. (Source: Ala. Code 43-8-135.) So a holographic will validly made in a state that allows them can still be admitted in Alabama. A handwritten will made in Alabama by an Alabama resident cannot.

If a handwritten, unwitnessed will is the only document a person leaves, the estate usually passes as if there were no will at all. See the Alabama intestate succession guide for what happens without a valid will.

Self-Proving Affidavits

Alabama lets a will be made self-proving, which removes a common probate headache: tracking down the witnesses to testify. A will may be simultaneously executed, attested, and made self-proved by the acknowledgment of the testator and the affidavits of the witnesses, each made before an officer authorized to administer oaths, such as a notary public, using the statutory form. An attested will may also be made self-proved at any time after execution. (Source: Ala. Code 43-8-132.)

What the affidavit does for an Alabama will:

  • A self-proving affidavit is optional. A will without one is still valid if it was signed correctly.
  • The affidavit does not replace the witnesses at signing. It is an extra sworn, notarized statement by the testator and the same witnesses.
  • If the will is self-proved, compliance with the signature requirements is conclusively presumed, the other execution requirements are presumed subject to rebuttal, and the probate court can admit the will without witness testimony, unless there is proof of fraud or forgery affecting the acknowledgment or affidavit.

Adding a self-proving affidavit is the single easiest way to make an Alabama will move smoothly through the county probate court.

Witnesses Who Are Also Beneficiaries

A frequent worry is whether a will fails because a witness also inherits under it. Alabama answers directly: any person generally competent to be a witness may witness a will, and a will or any provision in it is not invalid because an interested witness signed it. (Source: Ala. Code 43-8-134.)

So an interested witness does not void the will or the gift. Even so, using disinterested witnesses is the safer practice. It removes any argument about undue influence or bias and keeps the signing clean if the will is ever challenged.

How an Alabama Will Is Revoked or Changed

A valid will can be undone, and the methods matter. Alabama recognizes revocation by a later will and by physical act. A will or any part of it is revoked by a subsequent will that revokes it expressly or by inconsistency, and a will is revoked by being burned, torn, canceled, obliterated, or destroyed with the intent to revoke, by the testator or by another person in the testator's presence with the testator's consent and direction. If someone other than the testator performs the physical act, at least two witnesses must prove the testator's consent and direction. (Source: Ala. Code 43-8-136.)

Three follow-on rules are worth knowing:

  • Divorce revokes gifts to an ex-spouse. If the testator divorces or has the marriage annulled after making the will, the divorce or annulment revokes any disposition to the former spouse, any power of appointment conferred on the former spouse, and any nomination of the former spouse as executor, trustee, or guardian, unless the will expressly provides otherwise. The property passes as if the former spouse failed to survive the testator. Remarriage to the same former spouse revives the revoked provisions. (Source: Ala. Code 43-8-137.)
  • No other life change revokes a will. The statute is explicit that no change of circumstances other than divorce or annulment revokes a will. Update the document itself, with the same signing formalities, when your wishes change.
  • Revival is not automatic. Revoking a second will does not automatically bring back the first one. The first will returns only if the circumstances or the testator's signed, attested declarations show that intent. (Source: Ala. Code 43-8-138.)

Because divorce automatically cuts an ex-spouse out of will provisions, review your broader estate plan after any divorce. The will, beneficiary designations, and any trust do not update on the same rules.

What This Means for Your Plan

If you want an Alabama will that holds up, the cleanest version usually looks like this:

  1. Confirm the testator is at least 18 and of sound mind.
  2. Put the will in writing. Do not rely on a handwritten, unwitnessed document.
  3. Have the testator sign it, and have two competent, ideally disinterested, witnesses sign after watching the signing or hearing the testator acknowledge it. One sitting with everyone present is the best practice.
  4. Add a notarized self-proving affidavit in the statutory form so the witnesses do not have to testify at probate.
  5. Store the original safely and tell your executor where it is, because the original is what the county probate court admits.

A will is one piece of an Alabama estate plan, and a valid will does not skip probate by itself. See the Alabama power of attorney guide and the Alabama advance directive guide for the lifetime documents, the Alabama guide to avoiding probate for tools that keep assets out of court, and the Alabama intestate succession guide for what happens when no valid will exists. For the broader picture of how an estate moves through the courts, start at the Alabama probate guide or the Alabama county probate directory.

This guide is general information about Alabama wills. It is not legal advice. Confirm anything that affects your situation with the county probate court or a licensed Alabama attorney before you sign or rely on a will.

Sources

Information current as of June 11, 2026

This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Probate laws and procedures in Alabama can change. Consult with a qualified attorney for advice specific to your situation. Full disclaimer.

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