Massachusetts: Will Execution Requirements

Requirements one by one

Governing law

Massachusetts adopted the Uniform Probate Code — the Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code,
G.L. c. 190B, effective in 2012 — and its will-execution rules sit in Article II, Part 5.
The core statute is § 2-502. Massachusetts uses the traditional common-law attested will
(a written document the testator signs and two people witness) and departs from some other
UPC states in three ways worth knowing up front: it does not recognize holographic
(handwritten, unwitnessed) wills, it has not adopted electronic wills, and it deliberately
left out the UPC's harmless-error rule. Section 2-501 says who may make a will and § 2-505
covers a witness who is also a beneficiary.

Minimum age & capacity

"An individual 18 or more years of age who is of sound mind may make a will" (§ 2-501).
You must be 18 — Massachusetts sets no lower age for married or emancipated minors — and of
sound mind. The statute does not define "sound mind"; Massachusetts case law supplies the
familiar testamentary-capacity test (understanding that you are making a will, the general
nature and extent of your property, and who the natural objects of your bounty are),
measured at the time of signing.

Writing & signature

The will must be in writing and signed by the testator, or "in the testator's name by some
other individual in the testator's conscious presence and by the testator's direction"
(§ 2-502(a)). "Conscious presence" lets someone sign for a testator who cannot sign, as
long as the testator directs it and is aware — through any sense, not just sight — that it
is happening. Massachusetts has no rule that the signature appear at the end of the will,
and no requirement that the testator "publish" the document by announcing it is a will.

Witnesses required

A Massachusetts will must be "signed by at least 2 individuals, each of whom witnessed
either the signing of the will ... or the testator's acknowledgment of that signature or
acknowledgment of the will" (§ 2-502(a)(3)). The presence rules are notably relaxed: the
two witnesses do not have to be present at the same time, do not have to sign in the
testator's presence or in each other's presence, and the testator can sign privately and
later acknowledge the signature (or the will) to each witness.

Interested witnesses are handled by § 2-505. A gift to a witness — or to a witness's
spouse — is void "unless there are 2 other subscribing witnesses to the will who are not
similarly benefited," or the interested witness "establishes that the bequest was not
inserted, and the will was not signed, as a result of fraud or undue influence by the
witness." In other words, a beneficiary may serve as a witness without voiding the will,
but their gift is at risk unless two disinterested witnesses also signed or the witness can
clear themselves. The safe practice is two witnesses who inherit nothing.

Notarization & self-proving

A Massachusetts will does not have to be notarized — a notary is not a witness, and
notarizing a will does nothing to meet the two-witness rule. A will can be made self-proved
by the testator's acknowledgment and the witnesses' sworn affidavits before a notary,
either at the time of signing or any time afterward (§ 2-504). A self-proved will can be
admitted in a formal probate proceeding without calling the witnesses to testify, and
§ 2-504(c) protects against a classic trap: a signature on the self-proving affidavit
counts as a signature on the will itself if needed to prove due execution.

Handwritten (holographic) wills

Massachusetts does not recognize holographic wills. Its execution statute requires
attestation by two witnesses (§ 2-502) and has no holographic exception, so a will
handwritten and signed in Massachusetts without witnesses is not valid here. There is one
indirect route: § 2-506 honors a written will "valid if executed in compliance with"
another state's or country's law where it was executed, or the law of the testator's
domicile, abode, or nationality — so a holographic will that was valid where it was made
can still be given effect in Massachusetts after a move.

Electronic & remote wills

Massachusetts does not permit electronic wills. It has not enacted the Uniform Electronic
Wills Act or any other electronic-will statute — a 2021–2022 bill (SD 2927) was reported
favorably but did not pass — and § 2-502 requires a written will signed and witnessed. A
will that exists only as a computer file, or that is "signed" by typing a name, or
witnessed only over video, is not valid in Massachusetts.

Harmless-error / curative doctrine

Massachusetts has no harmless-error rule, and that omission was deliberate. The Uniform
Probate Code's dispensing-power section, § 2-503, appears in c. 190B only as "(Reserved),"
with the Massachusetts comment explaining that "the standards for executing and attesting a
will should not be loosened any more than under UPC Section 2-502." So a will that missed a
formality — one witness instead of two, for example — cannot be validated by proving that
the testator meant it as their will. Section 2-502(b) does allow extrinsic evidence to show
that a document was intended as a will, but that goes to the question of testamentary
intent, not to excusing a defect in how the will was signed or witnessed.

What trips people up

A handwritten will you signed alone is not valid in Massachusetts. The state does not
recognize holographic wills made in-state (§ 2-502). Writing out your wishes by hand and
signing them without two witnesses leaves no valid Massachusetts will — a common and costly
assumption. (A handwritten will that was valid where you made it before moving here is a
different situation and may still be honored under § 2-506.)

There is no harmless-error safety net. Because Massachusetts reserved § 2-503, a will
with only one witness, or with some other execution defect, generally fails no matter how
clear it is that you meant it as your will. Get the two witnesses right at signing.

A beneficiary who witnesses can lose their gift. An interested witness does not void the
whole will, but the gift to that witness (or their spouse) is void unless two other
disinterested witnesses also signed, or the witness can prove the gift was not the product
of their own fraud or undue influence (§ 2-505(b)). Use two witnesses who inherit nothing.

Common questions

Does my Massachusetts will have to be notarized? No. Massachusetts requires two
witnesses, not a notary (§ 2-502). Notarization only matters for the optional self-proving
affidavit that lets the will be admitted without live witness testimony (§ 2-504).

Can I just handwrite my will? Not in Massachusetts. The state does not recognize
holographic wills, so a handwritten will still needs two witnesses (§ 2-502). A handwritten,
witnessed will is fine; a handwritten, unwitnessed one made here is not.

Can I sign my will electronically or over video? No. Massachusetts has not adopted
electronic wills, and § 2-502 requires a physical signed writing witnessed by two people.
Electronic or video-only signing does not make a valid Massachusetts will.

Do both witnesses have to watch me sign at the same time? No. Massachusetts is unusually
flexible here: the two witnesses need not be present together, need not sign in your
presence, and you can sign first and later acknowledge your signature or the will to each of
them (§ 2-502(a)). Even so, having both present at the signing avoids later disputes.

Statutes and sources

• G.L. c. 190B, § 2-501 — who may make a will: an individual 18 or older and of sound mind.
  https://www.mass.gov/info-details/mass-general-laws-c190b-ss-2-501 (accessed 2026-07-11)
• G.L. c. 190B, § 2-502 — core execution rule: writing, signature (conscious presence), and two witnesses each of whom witnessed the signing or acknowledgment; extrinsic evidence of intent.
  https://www.mass.gov/info-details/mass-general-laws-c190b-ss-2-502 (accessed 2026-07-11)
• G.L. c. 190B, § 2-503 — reserved (Massachusetts did not adopt the UPC harmless-error/dispensing-power provision).
  https://www.mass.gov/lists/mgl-190b-article-ii-intestacy-wills-and-donative-transfers (accessed 2026-07-11)
• G.L. c. 190B, § 2-504 — self-proved wills: acknowledgment and witness affidavits before a notary at execution or later; affidavit signature counts as a will signature if needed.
  https://www.mass.gov/info-details/mass-general-laws-c190b-ss-2-504 (accessed 2026-07-11)
• G.L. c. 190B, § 2-505 — interested witnesses: a devise to a witness (or the witness's spouse) is void unless two disinterested witnesses signed or the witness disproves fraud/undue influence.
  https://www.mass.gov/info-details/mass-general-laws-c190b-ss-2-505 (accessed 2026-07-11)
• G.L. c. 190B, § 2-506 — choice of law: a written will is valid if executed under Massachusetts law or the law of the place of execution or the testator's domicile, abode, or nationality.
  https://www.mass.gov/info-details/mass-general-laws-c190b-ss-2-506 (accessed 2026-07-11)