Knowledge & Resources
Wills and estate planning
What a will does, how to write one, and what your state requires for it to count.
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Wills and estate planning
What a will does, how to write one, and what your state requires for it to count.
Arkansas accepts a handwritten will, but proving one takes three disinterested witnesses to your handwriting. A witnessed will is far less trouble for your family.
An Arkansas will other than a holographic one must be signed by the testator and by at least two witnesses. You have to declare to the attesting witnesses that the document is your will, and then either sign it yourself, acknowledge a signature you made earlier, sign by mark with your name written beside it, or have someone else sign your name in your presence and at your direction.
Ark. Code § 28-25-103
No. Section 28-25-103 requires the testator's signature and two witnesses, not a notary, and notarizing an Arkansas will does not substitute for them. A notary appears only in a separate self-proving affidavit.
Ark. Code § 28-25-103
Yes, with a sting in the tail. Where the entire body of the will and the signature are in the testator's own handwriting, the will can be established even though nobody attested it. But it must be proved by at least three credible disinterested witnesses to your handwriting and signature. Finding three people willing and able to swear to your handwriting years after your death is a real burden to leave your family, and it is the reason a witnessed will is the better choice even though Arkansas allows the alternative.
Ark. Code § 28-25-104
Any person 18 or older who is competent as a witness generally may attest an Arkansas will, and a will is not invalidated by being attested by an interested witness. But unless the will is also attested by two qualified disinterested witnesses, the interested witness forfeits whatever their gift exceeds in value what they would have received had you died without a will. Two disinterested witnesses removes the problem entirely.
Ark. Code § 28-25-102
Any person of sound mind eighteen years of age or older may make a will in Arkansas.
Ark. Code § 28-25-101
Ark. Code § 28-25-103 (Execution generally). Signed by the testator and by at least two attesting witnesses. The testator must declare the instrument is their will, sign (or acknowledge their signature) at the end, in the presence of two or more attesting witnesses, who sign at the testator's request and in their presence.
Links last checked 2026-08-24.
We could not read this statute at its official source, so the summary above is provisional. Confirm it before relying on it.
This is general information about the law, not legal advice, and it has not been reviewed by an attorney licensed in Arkansas. Requirements change. Confirm the current rules for your state before you sign.
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