Summary of Alabama's Will Requirements:
| Minimum Age to Make a Will | N/A | |
| Written Document Required | Yes | |
| Nuncupative Wills (Oral) | No | |
| Holographic Wills (Hand-Written, Unwitnessed) | Yes | |
| Number of Witnesses Required | 2 | |
| Self-Proving Affidavit | Allowed | |
| Statutory Form for Self-Proving Affidavit | Yes | |
Statutes Governing Alabama's Will Requirements:
Who may make a will
Any person 18 or more years of age who is of sound mind may make a will.
The Code of Alabama 1975, Section 43-8-130
Execution and signature of will; witnesses
Except as provided within section 43-8-135, every will shall be in writing signed by the testator or in the testator's name by some other person in the testator's presence and by his direction, and shall be signed by at least two persons each of whom witnessed either the signing or the testator's acknowledgment of the signature or of the will.
The Code of Alabama 1975, Section 43-8-131
Self-proved will - Form and execution; how attested will made self-proved; effect
(a) Any will may be simultaneously executed, attested, and made self-proved, by acknowledgment thereof by the testator and affidavits of the witnesses, each made before an officer authorized to administer oaths under the laws of the state where execution occurs and evidenced by the officer's certificate, under official seal, in substantially the following form:
I, ____________________, the testator, sign my name to this instrument this __________ day of ____________________, 19_____, and being first duly sworn, do hereby declare to the undersigned authority that I sign and execute this instrument as my last will and that I sign it willingly (or willingly direct another to sign for me), that I execute it as my free and voluntary act for the purposes therein expressed, and that I am 18 years of age or older, of sound mind, and under no constraint or undue influence.
_____________________
Testator
We, ____________________, the witnesses, sign our names to this instrument, being first duly sworn, and do hereby declare to the undersigned authority that the testator signs and executes this instrument as his last will and that he signs it willingly (or willingly directs another to sign for him), and that each of us, in the presence and hearing of the testator, hereby signs this will as witness to the testator's signing, and that to the best of our knowledge the testator is 18 years of age or older, of sound mind, and under no constraint or undue influence.
____________________
Witness____________________
Witness
State of ____________________County of ____________________
Subscribed, sworn to and acknowledged before me by ____________________, the testator and subscribed and sworn to before me by ____________________, and ____________________, witnesses, this __________ day of ____________________, 19_____.
(Seal)(Signed) ____________________
_________________________
(Official Capacity of Officer)
(b) An attested will may at any time subsequent to its execution be made self-proved by the acknowledgment thereof by the testator and the affidavits of the witnesses, each made before an officer authorized to administer oaths under the laws of the state where the acknowledgment occurs and evidenced by the officer's certificate, under the official seal, attached or annexed to the will in substantially the following form:
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COUNTY OF ______________
We, ______, ______, and _____, the testator and the witnesses, respectively, whose names are signed to the attached or foregoing instrument, being first duly sworn, do hereby declare to the undersigned authority that the testator signed and executed the instrument as his last will and that he had signed willingly (or willingly directed another to sign for him), and that he executed it as his free and voluntary act for the purposes therein expressed, and that each of the witnesses, in the presence and hearing of the testator, signed the will as witness and that to the best of his knowledge the testator was at that time 18 years of age or older, of sound mind and under no constraint or undue influence."
_____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________
(Seal) (Signed) ________________
_____________________________
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(c) If the will is self-proved, as provided in this section, compliance with signature requirements for execution is conclusively presumed, other requirements of execution are presumed subject to rebuttal without the testimony of any witness, and the will shall be probated without further proof, unless there is proof of fraud or forgery affecting the acknowledgment or affidavit.
The Code of Alabama 1975, Section 43-8-132
Self-proved will - Making attested will self-proved
An attested will may be made self-proved through compliance with section 43-8-132 or as otherwise provided by law.
The Code of Alabama 1975, Section 43-8-133
Who may witness will
(a) Any person generally competent to be a witness may act as a witness to a will. (b) A will or any provision thereof is not invalid because the will is signed by an interested witness.
The Code of Alabama 1975, Section 43-8-134
Choice of law as to validity of execution
A written will is valid if executed in compliance with section 43-8-131 or if its execution complies with the law at the time of execution of the place where the will is executed, or with the law of the place where at the time of execution or at the time of death the testator is domiciled, has a place of abode or is a national.
The Code of Alabama 1975, Section 43-8-135
[Reference - Alabama Requirements for a Will]
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