Holographic Wills
All wills are not witnessed by others and they are known as holographic wills. A holographic will is lawful in some states but not others and if you live in a state where they are valid there are certain requirements that must be met prior to the holographic will being validated by the courts. Where there is a holographic will (a will without any witness signatures) it must be proven that the testator actually wrote the will. This can be done with handwriting experts and other methods. In addition to proving that the testator wrote the will, it must be proven that the testator had the intellectual capacity to write the will and the testator must be expressing a wish to direct the distribution of his estate to beneficiaries. Holographic wills are often written in emergency situations; however, it is not recommended that people prepare holographic wills due to the difficulty of establishing their validity after death.
