How to Make a Valid Will in Pennsylvania

Any person 18 or older who is of sound mind may make a will. The will must be in writing and signed by the testator at the end; writing that appears after the signature does not invalidate what comes before it. If the testator signs by mark, or another person signs the testator's name at the testator's express direction, two witnesses must sign in the testator's presence (and, for a signature by another person, the testator must declare the document to be his or her will in front of them). A will is also valid in Pennsylvania if it was signed in compliance with the law of the place where the testator lived when it was signed or at death.

Pennsylvania has no separate category for handwritten wills, but its general rule only requires that a will be in writing and signed by the testator at the end. A handwritten will signed at the end can therefore be valid without attesting witnesses. To probate it, the will must be proved before the Register of Wills by the oaths or affirmations of two competent witnesses, which for an unwitnessed will typically means people who can identify the testator's signature. Oral (nuncupative) wills are not recognized; that provision was repealed in 1974.

Yes. An attested will may be made self-proved, at signing or any later date, by the testator's acknowledgment and the witnesses' affidavits made before an officer authorized to administer oaths (such as a notary public), or before a Pennsylvania attorney and certified to such an officer, evidenced by the officer's certificate under seal attached to the will. The statute sets out an acknowledgment and affidavit form (a Uniform Probate Code form may also be used). Unless the will is contested or was signed by mark or by another person, the Register accepts the affidavits as proof without further testimony.