Are Holographic (handwritten) Wills Legal?

Like many legal issues, the answer to whether a handwritten last will and testament is legal is “it depends”. First, a will must meet the legal requirements for its content, signatures, and witnesses regardless of whether the will is typed or handwritten. These requirements include things like description of the testator (that’s the person whose death will trigger the will), description of the estate’s property, and so forth. Let’s assume that you write out a holographic last will and testament correctly, in that you manage to handwrite all the relevant provisions to make your will valid. In about half the states, that’s still not good enough–they don’t recognize holographic wills at all.  more