In Virginia, there are laws in place that dictate what does or doesn’t make a will valid. If you do not follow these rules, you could potentially risk your entire will being considered invalid. It would, therefore, be disregarded by the court and your wishes will not be fulfilled.
FindLaw takes a look at what types of wills are considered valid in Virginia. First off, Virginia is a state in which holographic – or handwritten – wills are allowed. This isn’t the case in every state. However, there are rules in place that must be followed for these holographic wills to be considered valid.
First, you need to be of sound mind and at least 18 years of age at the time you write the will. Next, you need two disinterested witnesses to prove that the will is authentic. This means the two witnesses cannot have a stake in the will and must not benefit from it in any way.
These witnesses don’t have to be there to see the document written or to sign it. They must simply be able to testify that the handwriting is yours. However, it is generally suggested that you have at least two witnesses sign the document for authenticity as it can make things easier for the court to handle processing it. Otherwise, the only requirement is that the document is written in your handwriting and signed by you.
If you are considering writing a will, contact an attorney for more information. You can learn more about will validity and how to ensure that your will follows these rules.
