Holographic Wills

A holographic will is the legal name for a handwritten will.  Roughly half of the states in the U.S. accept holographic wills at all, and the ones that do have some very strict guidelines as to what constitutes a valid one.   But if the holographic will meets all the necessary requirements of the state in which it was written, then it is as binding as a witnessed, formal, written will.

A holographic wills must be written entirely in your own handwriting, or the courts will very likely to throw it out.  This means that you cannot buy a will at a stationary store and fill in the blanks.  It means that you cannot type part of the will and hand write part of it.  It means that no one else can hand write it for you.  It has to be written entirely in your own handwriting.  

The safer thing to do is to type the will, sign it and have it witnessed.  This will lessen the chance of the document not standing up in court.  You may want to consult an attorney to make sure everything has been covered in your will and that no unforeseen circumstances may arise after your death.

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