A will that is handwritten and signed by the person making the will. A holographic will must be handwritten and signed by the person who creates the will.
It’s important to keep these points in mind to understand what constitutes a holographic will:
- A holographic will is a handwritten will
- Typed wills are typically not considered holographic
- Standard wills and holographic wills have different witness requirements
- Not all states recognize holographic wills
A holographic will is different from a normal will
A holographic will is a handwritten will as apposed to a normal will which is typed and usually created by an estate planning attorney. Wills written by attorneys are witnessed and stamped by a notary. The destinction is important because some states do not allow holographic wills.
Some states do not allow holographic wills
Many states do not allow holographic wills. For instance, Florida does not allow holographic wills under any circumstances. These states do allow holographic wills.
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Idaho
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Michigan
- Mississippi
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Jersey
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Oklahoma
- Pennsylvania
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Virginia
- West Virginia
- Wyoming
What should you do if you are an heir, executor or beneficiary to a holographic will?
If you are an heir, beneficiary or executor to an estate that has a holographic will, you should hire a probate attorney. It is likely that if there is any substantial money in the estate, you will have to go through probate. If you are in probate and need money immediately, a financial tool that can help you is a probate advance, estate advance, inheritance advance otherwise known as an estate loan, probate loan or inheritance loan.
For More information you can visit our guides: Probate Guides Inheritance Guides Inheriting Real Estate
