Louisiana: Will Execution Requirements
The short answer
Louisiana is a civil-law state and calls a will a testament. There is no common-law witnessed will here; the law recognizes only two forms. An olographic testament is one you write, date, and sign entirely in your own hand — no witnesses and no notary. A notarial testament must be prepared in writing, dated, and signed before a notary public and two witnesses, all of whom sign it. You must be at least 16 and able to comprehend generally the nature and consequences of what you are doing. Louisiana does not allow electronic wills, and a testament that misses a required formality is absolutely null.
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This is the general rule in Louisiana. Ezel applies current Louisiana law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law | La. Civ. Code arts. 1570–1581. Louisiana is a civil-law state: a will is a 'testament,' and a disposition at death may be made only in a form the law authorizes. There are exactly TWO forms — olographic (art. 1575) and notarial (art. 1576) — and no common-law attested will. Formalities 'must be observed or the testament is absolutely null' (art. 1573). 2025 Act 30 (eff. Aug. 1, 2025) rewrote both forms and repealed former arts. 1577–1580.1 |
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| Minimum age & capacity | 16, not 18. A minor under 16 cannot make a will except in favor of a spouse or children; a minor who has reached 16 may make a will (donation mortis causa) in favor of anyone (art. 1476). Capacity requires being able 'to comprehend generally the nature and consequences of the disposition' (art. 1477), judged as of the moment of execution |
| Writing & signature | Every testament must be written and signed. Olographic: entirely written, dated, and signed in the testator's own handwriting (art. 1575). Notarial: prepared in writing and signed by the testator, or — if unable to sign — by the testator's mark or by another person at the testator's direction and in the testator's presence (art. 1576(A)). Since 2025 Act 30 the signature may appear anywhere in either form (arts. 1575(B), 1576(B)). No agent (mandatary) may make a testament, and no two people may use one instrument (art. 1571) |
| Witnesses required | Two witnesses — but ONLY for the notarial testament, which is executed 'before a notary public in the presence of two witnesses' and signed by the testator, each witness, and the notary (art. 1576(A)). The olographic (handwritten) testament needs NO witnesses. A witness may not be someone insane, blind, under 16, or unable to sign his name (art. 1581) — the exclusive list; Louisiana has no purging statute voiding a gift to a witness who is also a beneficiary |
| Notarization & self-proving | For the notarial testament a notary is REQUIRED for validity (art. 1576) — Louisiana is the one state where notarization can be an execution requirement. The olographic testament needs no notary. A notarial testament is self-proving (needs no proof at probate) if it is signed on each separate page and carries a declaration by the notary and witnesses (La. C.C.P. art. 2887(A); art. 2891). Without that, it is proved by notary/witness testimony or affidavit (art. 2887(B)). An olographic testament is never self-proving — its handwriting must always be proved |
| Handwritten (holographic) wills | Yes — this is the olographic testament, the civil-law handwritten will. It is valid with no witnesses and no notary 'if entirely written, dated, and signed in the handwriting of the testator' (art. 1575(A)). It must be ENTIRELY in the testator's hand (a typed page or a printed form with handwritten blanks does not qualify) and must be dated; since 2025 Act 30 the date is sufficient if the day, month, and year are reasonably ascertainable, clarified by extrinsic evidence if needed (art. 1575(C)) |
| Electronic & remote wills | Not permitted. Louisiana has not adopted the Uniform Electronic Wills Act or any electronic-will statute; both testament forms require either the testator's own handwriting (olographic) or physical execution before a notary and two witnesses (notarial). There is no remote audio-video witnessing authority. A will existing only as an electronic file, or 'signed' by typing a name, is not a valid Louisiana testament |
| Harmless-error / curative doctrine | No harmless-error or substantial-compliance escape hatch. A testament that fails a required formality 'is absolutely null' (art. 1573), and no court may excuse the defect on a showing of intent. Louisiana's 2025 Act 30 reforms instead RELAXED the formalities themselves (signature anywhere, no mandatory attestation clause or publication for validity, fewer special-case rules), reducing what can void a will — but they did not create a curative doctrine |
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Requirements one by one
Governing law
Louisiana is the country's only civil-law state, and its rules for wills look different
from everywhere else. A will is called a testament, and the governing articles live
in the Civil Code (Book III, Title II, arts. 1570–1581), not in a probate code. Two
rules frame everything: a disposition that takes effect at death may be made only in a
form the law authorizes, and "there are two forms of testaments: olographic and
notarial" (art. 1574). There is no common-law "attested will" here — no generic
type-it-up-and-get-two-witnesses document. If a testament does not fit one of the two
authorized forms and its formalities, "the testament is absolutely null" (art. 1573).
Louisiana overhauled these rules in 2025 Act 30 (Senate Bill 49), effective August 1,
2025. The Act rewrote the olographic and notarial forms, added a new proof-at-probate
article, and repealed the old detailed notarial-testament articles (former arts. 1577
through 1580.1). One practical consequence: the notarial testament's requirements now
live in art. 1576, not the former art. 1577 that older guides still cite.
Minimum age & capacity
Louisiana sets the age at 16, not 18. A person under 16 cannot make a will at all,
except in favor of a spouse or children; once a person reaches 16 they may make a will
(a "donation mortis causa") in favor of anyone (art. 1476). Beyond age, the maker must be
able "to comprehend generally the nature and consequences of the disposition" being made
(art. 1477). That understanding has to exist at the moment the testament is executed —
capacity is measured then, not before or after.
Writing & signature
Every Louisiana testament must be in writing and signed; the state recognizes no oral
(nuncupative) will. Who may sign, and how, depends on the form. For an olographic
testament the testator must write, date, and sign the whole thing personally, in their own
hand (art. 1575). For a notarial testament the testator signs before the notary and
witnesses; a testator who is physically unable to sign may instead make a mark, or direct
another person to sign for them in the testator's presence (art. 1576(A)). Since 2025 Act
30, the old rule that the signature go "at the end" is gone — in both forms the signature
"may appear anywhere in the testament" as long as it identifies the testator and shows an
intent to adopt the document (arts. 1575(B), 1576(B)). Two structural limits apply to any
testament: no agent (mandatary) may make a will for you, and no two people may make a
joint will in one instrument (art. 1571).
Witnesses required
Whether you need witnesses depends entirely on which form you choose. An olographic
testament needs no witnesses and no notary — that is the whole point of a handwritten
will. A notarial testament must be "executed before a notary public in the presence of
two witnesses," and signed by the testator, each witness, and the notary (art. 1576(A)).
So the honest count is: zero witnesses for a handwritten will, two witnesses (plus the
notary) for a notarial will.
Article 1581 sets who may serve as a witness by listing who may not: "A person cannot be a
witness to any testament if the person is insane, blind, under the age of sixteen, or
unable to sign his name." That list is exclusive. Notably, being a beneficiary is not
on it — Louisiana has no "purging statute" that voids a gift to a witness who also
inherits, unlike many common-law states. (2025 Act 30 also removed the old bars on deaf
people and people unable to read serving as witnesses.)
Notarization & self-proving
Louisiana is the one state where notarization can be a genuine execution requirement — but
only for the notarial form. A notarial testament is invalid without a notary; the
notary is central to the form, not an optional add-on (art. 1576). An olographic
testament, by contrast, needs no notary at all.
Separate from validity is proof at probate. A notarial testament is self-proving — it
"does not need to be proved" — if it is signed on each separate page and carries a
declaration, signed by the notary and the witnesses, that the testator declared the
instrument to be their testament and signed each page (La. C.C.P. art. 2887(A); art. 2891).
Get that right and the will is filed and given effect without anyone testifying. Without it,
the notarial testament must be proved by the testimony (or an affidavit) of the notary and a
witness, or of the two witnesses (art. 2887(B)). An olographic testament is never
self-proving: because no notary or witness watched it being written, its handwriting must
always be proved after death.
Handwritten (holographic) wills
Yes — the olographic testament is Louisiana's version of the handwritten will, and it is
one of the two authorized forms, not a fallback. It is valid with no witnesses and no
notary "if entirely written, dated, and signed in the handwriting of the testator"
(art. 1575(A)). Two cautions. First, "entirely" is strict: the whole document must be in
your own handwriting, so a typed page — or a store-bought form with handwritten blanks —
is not an olographic testament. Second, it must be dated; 2025 Act 30 loosened what counts,
so the date now suffices if the day, month, and year are reasonably ascertainable, with
outside evidence allowed to clear up an ambiguity (art. 1575(C)). A handwritten will costs
nothing to make but is the form most often fought over, precisely because no one witnessed it.
Electronic & remote wills
Louisiana does not permit electronic wills. It has not adopted the Uniform Electronic Wills
Act, and neither authorized form can be executed electronically: the olographic testament
must be in the testator's own handwriting, and the notarial testament must be physically
executed in front of a notary and two witnesses. There is no remote audio-video witnessing
option. A document that exists only as a computer file, or that was "signed" by typing a
name, is not a valid Louisiana testament.
Harmless-error / curative doctrine
Louisiana has no harmless-error rule. If a testament misses a required formality, it "is
absolutely null" (art. 1573), and no court may save it by finding that the maker clearly
intended it as a will — the opposite of states with a "harmless-error" or
substantial-compliance escape hatch. What Louisiana did in 2025 Act 30 was different in
kind: instead of giving courts power to excuse defects, it relaxed the formalities
themselves — letting the signature appear anywhere, dropping the mandatory attestation
clause and formal "publication" as validity requirements, and removing several special-case
rules. That reduces how many wills fail on a technicality, but it is not a curative doctrine:
whatever formalities remain still have to be met exactly.
What trips people up
A typed will signed with two witnesses is not a valid Louisiana will. This is the trap
that catches people who move here from a common-law state. Louisiana recognizes only the
olographic and notarial forms (art. 1574). A printed document you sign in front of two
witnesses — the ordinary will nearly everywhere else — fits neither form unless a notary
also executes it as a notarial testament. Without the notary, it is absolutely null
(art. 1573).
A handwritten will has to be entirely handwritten. An olographic testament fails if any
operative part is typed or filled into a pre-printed form; the whole thing must be in your
hand, and it must be dated and signed (art. 1575). People who handwrite a few blanks on a
downloaded form have made neither a valid olographic testament nor a valid notarial one.
"Notarized" is not the same as a notarial testament. Taking a document to a notary and
having your signature acknowledged does not create a notarial testament. The notarial form
requires the notary and two witnesses to execute the testament together, with the testator,
each witness, and the notary all signing (art. 1576(A)) — and, to make it self-proving, a
signature on each page plus the declaration in La. C.C.P. art. 2887(A).
Forced heirship still applies. Separate from execution, Louisiana reserves a portion of
some estates for "forced heirs" (children under 24 or permanently disabled). Signing a valid
testament does not let you freely disinherit them. That is a limit on what a will can do, not
on how it is signed, but it surprises people planning around a Louisiana will.
Common questions
Do I need a lawyer or notary to make a will in Louisiana? Not for a handwritten
(olographic) will — if you write, date, and sign the entire thing yourself, it is valid with
no notary and no witnesses (art. 1575). A notarial testament, the form most estate plans use,
does require a notary and two witnesses (art. 1576).
How old do I have to be? Sixteen. A person under 16 generally cannot make a will, but at
16 you may leave your property to anyone (art. 1476) — Louisiana is unusual in setting the age
below 18.
Can I sign my Louisiana will online or over video? No. Louisiana has not adopted electronic
wills, and both authorized forms require either your own handwriting or physical execution
before a notary and two witnesses. A will signed only electronically is not valid.
Can a person I leave something to be one of my witnesses? For a notarial testament, the law
lists who cannot witness — someone insane, blind, under 16, or unable to sign (art. 1581) — and
a beneficiary is not disqualified. Louisiana has no statute voiding a gift to a witness. Using
disinterested witnesses is still the safer practice, but a beneficiary-witness does not by
itself void the will or the gift.
Statutes and sources
- La. Civ. Code art. 1571 — no agent may make a testament; no joint testaments in one instrument.
https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=108896 (accessed 2026-07-11) - La. Civ. Code art. 1573 — formalities must be observed or the testament is absolutely null (the strict-compliance rule).
https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=108898 (accessed 2026-07-11) - La. Civ. Code art. 1574 — the two forms of testaments: olographic and notarial.
https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=108899 (accessed 2026-07-11) - La. Civ. Code art. 1575 — olographic testament: entirely written, dated, and signed in the testator's hand (as amended by 2025 Act 30).
https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=108900 (accessed 2026-07-11) - La. Civ. Code art. 1576 — notarial testament: prepared in writing, dated, executed before a notary and two witnesses, signed by all (as amended by 2025 Act 30).
https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=108901 (accessed 2026-07-11) - La. Civ. Code art. 1476 — capacity by age: a minor may make a will only at 16 (with a narrow spouse/children exception below 16).
https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=108796 (accessed 2026-07-11) - La. Civ. Code art. 1477 — capacity standard: must comprehend generally the nature and consequences of the disposition.
https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=108797 (accessed 2026-07-11) - La. Civ. Code art. 1581 — who may not witness a testament (insane, blind, under 16, or unable to sign); the exclusive list, no beneficiary bar.
https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=108907 (accessed 2026-07-11) - La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 2887 — when a notarial testament is self-proving, and how one that is not is proved at probate (added by 2025 Act 30).
https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=111564 (accessed 2026-07-11)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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