Kentucky: Will Execution Requirements

Requirements one by one

Governing law

Kentucky's will-execution rules are in KRS Chapter 394. Sections 394.020, 394.040,
394.210, and 394.225 govern ordinary paper wills. The Uniform Electronic Wills Act,
§§ 394.700–394.715, now governs electronic wills for decedents who die on or after
July 15, 2026.

Minimum age & capacity

Any "person of sound mind and eighteen (18) years of age or over" may make a will
(§ 394.020). The statute itself states that age-and-capacity floor without defining
"sound mind."

Writing & signature

A Kentucky will must be in writing "with the name of the testator subscribed thereto by himself,
or by some other person in his presence and by his direction" (§ 394.040). In plain terms: you
sign the will yourself, or direct someone else to sign your name for you in your
presence. Kentucky's ordinary execution statute requires a signed writing.

Witnesses required

Whether you need witnesses turns on one thing: whether the will is entirely in your own
handwriting. If it is not wholly handwritten, the testator must sign the will — or acknowledge
an already-made signature — "in the presence of at least two (2) credible witnesses, who shall
subscribe the will with their names in the presence of the testator, and in the presence of each
other" (§ 394.040). So the two witnesses must watch the testator sign or acknowledge, and must
sign in front of the testator and in front of one another.

Kentucky keeps an interested-witness purging rule. If a witness (or that witness's spouse)
is left something in the will and the will "cannot otherwise be proved," the witness still counts
as competent, but the gift to them "shall be void" — with one softening: if the witness would
have inherited something had there been no will, they keep their gift up to the value of that
intestate share (§ 394.210(2)). The safe practice is to use two witnesses who inherit nothing, so
this rule never comes into play.

Notarization & self-proving

A Kentucky will does not have to be notarized to be valid — a notary is not a substitute for a
witness. Notarization matters only for the optional self-proving affidavit. Under § 394.225,
the testator and the witnesses can swear an affidavit before an officer authorized to administer
oaths (such as a notary), either at the same time the will is signed or at any point afterward.
A self-proved will is accepted at probate without the witnesses having to appear and testify,
which saves time and trouble later. It is a convenience, not a requirement.

Handwritten (holographic) wills

Kentucky recognizes a holographic will. The two-witness requirement in § 394.040 applies only
"if the will is not wholly written by the testator" — so a will written entirely in the testator's
own handwriting, with the testator's name subscribed to it, is valid with no witnesses at all.
The statute sets no separate date requirement for a handwritten will. Because no one witnessed it,
a holographic will has to have its handwriting proved after death, which is a common source of
probate disputes; but it is a genuine, valid form.

Electronic & remote wills

Kentucky now permits electronic wills. Under § 394.706, the will must be a record
readable as text. The testator signs it, or another person signs the testator's name in
the testator's physical presence and at the testator's direction. At least two witnesses
must sign within a reasonable time after witnessing the signing or acknowledgment.
Each witness must be a Kentucky resident and physically located in Kentucky, but the
witness may be in the testator's physical or electronic presence. Each electronic
signature symbol must be an electronic image of that person's handwritten signature.

Section 394.715 limits the act to the will of a decedent who dies on or after July 15,
2026. Section 394.710 also lets an electronic will be made self-proving through the
testator's acknowledgment, witness affidavits, and the required notarial certificate.

Harmless-error / curative doctrine

Kentucky has no general harmless-error statute. Section 394.040 opens "No will is
valid unless" its requirements are met, so an ordinary paper will cannot rely on a
statutory intent-only cure for a missing signature or witness formality. For an
electronic will, § 394.706(3) allows extrinsic evidence to establish that the testator
intended the record to be an electronic will, but it does not dispense with the section's
signature and witness requirements.

What trips people up

Witnesses must sign in front of the testator and in front of each other. Section 394.040 is
specific: the two witnesses "shall subscribe the will with their names in the presence of the
testator, and in the presence of each other." Collecting witness signatures separately, or mailing
the will around for signatures, breaks the rule — and because Kentucky has no harmless-error escape
hatch for paper wills, that mistake can void the will.

A beneficiary who witnesses can lose the gift. Under § 394.210(2), if a witness (or their
spouse) is a beneficiary and the will cannot otherwise be proved, the gift to that witness is void,
except up to what they would have inherited without a will. Two disinterested witnesses avoid the
problem entirely.

A handwritten will has to be wholly handwritten. The no-witness option in § 394.040 applies
only to a will "wholly written by the testator." A printed or typed form with handwritten fill-ins
is not wholly handwritten, so it needs two witnesses like any other will. Handwriting only the
blanks does not create a valid holographic will.

The electronic-wills act turns on the date of death. Section 394.715 applies the
act to a will of a decedent who dies on or after July 15, 2026. The act also requires
each electronic-will witness to be a Kentucky resident and physically in Kentucky
when signing, even when the witness appears to the testator by live audio-video.

Common questions

Does my Kentucky will have to be notarized? No. Kentucky requires two witnesses for a typed or
printed will, not a notary (§ 394.040). Notarization is only for the optional self-proving affidavit
under § 394.225, which makes probate easier but is never required to make the will valid.

Can I write my will by hand instead? Yes. A will written entirely in your own handwriting, with
your name signed to it, is valid in Kentucky with no witnesses (§ 394.040). Make sure the whole
document — not just the blanks on a form — is in your handwriting.

Can two witnesses also be my beneficiaries? They can serve, but it is risky. If a witness (or
their spouse) inherits under the will and the will can't otherwise be proved, that gift is void
except up to their intestate share (§ 394.210(2)). Use witnesses who inherit nothing.

Can I sign my will online in Kentucky? Yes, if the electronic will satisfies
§ 394.706. Two Kentucky-resident witnesses who are physically in Kentucky must
witness and sign; they may be in your physical or electronic presence.

Statutes and sources

• KRS 394.020 — who may make a will: any person of sound mind, 18 or older.
  https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=36234 (accessed 2026-07-19)
• KRS 394.040 — requisites of a valid will: writing, signature, and two credible witnesses unless the will is wholly handwritten (the holographic exception).
  https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=36237 (accessed 2026-07-19)
• KRS 394.210 — a devise to an attesting witness (or spouse) is void unless the will can otherwise be proved, with an intestate-share exception (the purging rule).
  https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=36260 (accessed 2026-07-19)
• KRS 394.225 — the optional self-proving affidavit and its statutory form.
  https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=36262 (accessed 2026-07-19)
• KRS 394.706 — execution requirements for an electronic will, including two Kentucky-resident witnesses in the testator's physical or electronic presence.
  https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=57699 (accessed 2026-07-19)
• KRS 394.710 — optional simultaneous attestation and self-proving of an electronic will.
  https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=57701 (accessed 2026-07-19)
• KRS 394.715 — the electronic-wills act applies to a decedent who dies on or after July 15, 2026.
  https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=57704 (accessed 2026-07-19)