Utah Will Requirements: What Makes a Will Legally Valid

Short answer: A standard Utah will generally needs to be signed by the person making it (the testator) and signed by two witnesses. Utah also recognizes holographic wills — entirely handwritten, requiring no witnesses at all — though these can't be made "self-proving" the way a standard witnessed will can.

Who this guide is for

Anyone in Utah creating a will, or trying to determine whether an existing document meets Utah's legal requirements.

The standard requirements

• Signed by the testator (the person whose will it is)
• Signed by two witnesses, each of whom signs within a reasonable time after witnessing the testator sign or acknowledge the will

The interested-witness rule — a genuinely useful, non-obvious fact

In some states, a witness who's also a beneficiary can void their own gift under the will. Utah doesn't apply that rule — a beneficiary can serve as one of the two required witnesses, and their gift under the will remains valid. This is worth knowing since it's a common point of confusion carried over from assumptions based on other states' laws.

Holographic wills — the handwritten exception

A holographic will doesn't require any witnesses at all — but the signature and all material portions of the will need to be in the testator's own handwriting. This can be a useful option in genuine emergencies or unusual circumstances, but it comes with a real limitation: a holographic will cannot be made self-proving (see below), which can add friction during probate.

Making a will "self-proving"

A self-proving will speeds up probate significantly — with a self-proving affidavit properly executed, the court can accept the will without needing to track down and contact the witnesses to confirm its validity. To make a will self-proving:

• The testator and witnesses sign an affidavit before a notary, confirming who they are and that each knew they were signing the will
• Notably, the notary can serve as one of the two required witnesses and still notarize the document — including notarizing their own signature as a witness, along with the testator's and the other witness's signatures

Given how much friction this saves during probate, making a standard witnessed will self-proving is generally worth the extra notary visit.

What happens without a valid will

If a document doesn't meet Utah's requirements — missing witnesses, an unsigned document, or a "holographic" will that isn't actually in the testator's own handwriting throughout its material portions — it may not be recognized as valid, meaning the estate could be treated as if there were no will at all. See Utah Intestate Succession for what that default outcome looks like.

Frequently asked questions

Can I write my own will without a lawyer in Utah? Yes — Utah's requirements are designed to be achievable without an attorney, though a self-proving affidavit and correct execution matter enough that careful attention to the requirements (or a consultation for a complex estate) is worthwhile.

Does a will need to be notarized to be valid? No — notarization is only required to make a will self-proving, not for basic validity. A properly witnessed will is valid without a notary; it just may require more work to probate.

Can I change my will later? Yes, generally through a formal amendment (a codicil) or by creating a new will that revokes the prior one — an informal handwritten change to an existing typed will can create real validity questions and is worth avoiding.