An online will can be legally binding in Alabama. Nothing in the law requires a lawyer to draft it.
What Alabama does require is precise execution. Under Ala. Code § 43-8-131 a will must be in writing, signed by the testator, and signed by at least two witnesses. Get that wrong and the document is not a will — and nobody finds out until the person who could have fixed it has died.
What the statute actually requires
Section 43-8-131 in full effect: 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 their 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.
| Requirement | Detail |
|---|---|
| In writing | Printed is fine. It has to exist on paper |
| Signed by the testator | Or by another person, in your presence and at your direction |
| Two witnesses | At least two. They must witness either the signing or your acknowledgment of the signature or of the will |
| Notarization | Not required for validity. Required only to make the will self-proving under § 43-8-132 |
There is no holographic will provision anywhere in Alabama’s execution statutes. A will written out entirely in your own handwriting and signed, but not witnessed by two people, is not valid if executed here.
The one exception is § 43-8-135: a will is valid if its execution complied with the law of the place where it was executed, or where the testator was domiciled, had a place of abode, or was a national. A holographic will validly made in a state that permits them can be given effect in Alabama.
Ala. Code §§ 43-8-131, 43-8-135.Where online wills actually fail
The template is rarely the problem. The signing ceremony is.
- Only one witness, or noneThe most common failure. Someone prints the document, signs it at the kitchen table, and puts it in a drawer. Alabama requires two.
- Witnesses who are beneficiariesAlabama addresses who may witness at § 43-8-134. Best practice is unambiguous: use two disinterested witnesses who take nothing under the will. It removes the argument entirely and costs nothing.
- Witnesses who were not actually presentSignatures collected separately over a week are not the same thing as witnessing the signing or the acknowledgment. This is exactly the fact pattern a will contest is built on.
- No self-proving affidavitNot fatal, but expensive. Without it, someone has to find your witnesses years later and get them to testify.
- A form written for another stateCommunity property language, a state-specific spousal share, or a self-proving affidavit that does not track Alabama’s statutory form.
- Nobody can find the originalA copy raises a presumption problem. Tell your executor where the original is.
Already signed an online will?
Bring it in. Checking whether it was executed correctly under Alabama law is a short appointment, and it is the only way to know before it matters.
The self-proving affidavit is the part worth paying for
Under § 43-8-132 a will can be made self-proved, either at signing or later by an attached affidavit. The statute sets out the forms and requires the testator and witnesses to swear before an officer authorized to administer oaths, with the officer’s signature, capacity and seal.
The effect, in the statute’s words: “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,” absent fraud or forgery affecting the affidavit.
A self-proved will goes through probate without anyone hunting for witnesses. A will without one does not.
What an online form usually leaves out
- A bond waiver. Section 43-2-851(c) lets a testator exempt the personal representative from bond by express provision. Without it, the estate pays a premium.
- Successor executors. People die, move and decline. Naming a backup avoids a hearing.
- Coordination with beneficiary designations. A form cannot know that your 401(k) still names your first spouse. That designation overrides your will.
- How the deed to your house reads. Survivorship language, tenancy in common, life estate — each produces a different result, and none of them care what your will says.
- Anything about incapacity. A will does nothing while you are alive. A durable power of attorney and an advance directive under § 22-8A-4 are the documents that matter then.
For a genuinely simple estate — one spouse, adult children who get along, no real property complications, no business — a correctly executed online will can work. It is far better than nothing.
What it cannot do is look at your deed and your beneficiary designations and tell you that those, not the will, are deciding what actually happens. That is the part people pay a lawyer for, and it is usually not the part they think they are buying.
General guidance. Whether it applies depends on facts we would need to review.If you use an online form anyway
- Print it. Do not sign a screen.
- Get two witnesses. Three if you want a margin.
- Use witnesses who inherit nothing under the will.
- Everyone signs at the same time, in the same room, watching each other.
- Add the self-proving affidavit under § 43-8-132 and get it notarized.
- Store the original somewhere retrievable and tell your executor where.
- Then check your beneficiary designations and your deed — because those override the will.
Questions about online wills in Alabama
Is a will I made on a website valid in Alabama?
It can be. Alabama does not require a lawyer to draft a will. It requires the will to be in writing, signed by you, and signed by at least two witnesses under Ala. Code § 43-8-131. Most online wills that fail here fail on execution, not on drafting.
Does an Alabama will have to be notarized?
No, not for validity. Notarization is what makes a will self-proving under § 43-8-132, which means it can be probated without producing the witnesses. It is strongly worth doing, but a will without it is not invalid.
Can I write my own will by hand in Alabama?
Only if it is witnessed by two people. Alabama’s execution statutes contain no holographic will provision, so a handwritten unwitnessed will executed in Alabama is not valid. Section 43-8-135 can save one validly executed under another state’s law.
How many witnesses does an Alabama will need?
At least two. Each must have witnessed either the signing or the testator’s acknowledgment of the signature or of the will. They do not have to witness each other, but having everyone sign together is much cleaner.
Can my spouse or my children witness my will?
Alabama addresses who may witness at § 43-8-134, but the safe practice is to use two witnesses who take nothing under the will. A beneficiary-witness invites a challenge that costs far more than finding two neutral people.
Is a digital or electronic will valid in Alabama?
Section 43-8-131 requires a will to be in writing and signed. Do not assume a fully electronic signing satisfies that in Alabama — print it and execute it in ink with two witnesses. That path is unambiguous.
What happens if my will is invalid?
It is as though you left no will. Alabama’s intestacy statutes decide who inherits — § 43-8-41 for the spouse and § 43-8-42 for everyone else — and the probate court appoints an administrator under the priority in § 43-2-42. In a blended family that commonly means a very different outcome than you intended.
Bring the will you already have
We will tell you whether it was executed correctly under Alabama law, and what it is missing. Serving families across Limestone, Madison, Morgan and the surrounding counties.
Daniel Shawn Pickens
Attorney at Daniel S. Pickens Law in Athens, Alabama. The firm handles estate planning, probate, real estate closings and title work, deeds, business formation and contracts for families and businesses across Limestone, Madison, Morgan, Lauderdale, Colbert, Franklin and Lawrence Counties.
Questions about estate planning or probate? Email estateplanning@dsp.law or call 256-434-1678.
Daniel S. Pickens Law · 300 West Green Street, Athens, Alabama 35611
