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.
Delaware states the consequence plainly: a will that does not meet its requirements is void, not merely challengeable.
Every Delaware will, of personal or real estate, must be in writing and signed by the testator, or by someone subscribing the testator's name in the testator's presence and at their express direction. It must then be attested and subscribed in the testator's presence by two or more credible witnesses. The statute adds what most leave implied: a will not complying with those requirements is void.
12 Del. C. § 202
No. Section 202 requires two credible witnesses attesting in the testator's presence, not a notary, and notarizing a Delaware will does not substitute for them.
12 Del. C. § 202
Delaware imposes none. Any person generally competent to be a witness may witness a will, and a will or any provision of it is not invalid because it was signed by an interested person. The gift stands. Disinterested witnesses remain the better habit, because they remove an argument about influence rather than a rule.
12 Del. C. § 203
Any person of the age of 18 years or upwards, of sound and disposing mind and memory, may make a will in Delaware. The statute says the converse explicitly: no person under 18 is capable of making a will of real or personal estate.
12 Del. C. § 201
12 Del. C. § 202 (Requisites and execution of will). In writing and signed by the testator (or in the testator's name in their presence and by their express direction), attested and subscribed in the testator's presence by two or more credible witnesses.
Links last checked 2026-08-24.
This is general information about the law, not legal advice, and it has not been reviewed by an attorney licensed in Delaware. Requirements change. Confirm the current rules for your state before you sign.
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