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.
Georgia sets the lowest will-making age in the country at 14, and lets a testator sign by mark or by any name meant to authenticate the document.
A Georgia will must be in writing and signed by the testator, or by another individual in the testator's presence and at their express direction. The testator may sign by mark, or by any name intended to authenticate the instrument as their will. It must then be attested and subscribed in the presence of the testator by two or more competent witnesses.
O.C.G.A. § 53-4-20
No. Section 53-4-20 requires two competent witnesses attesting in the testator's presence, not a notary, and notarizing a Georgia will does not substitute for them.
O.C.G.A. § 53-4-20
A subscribing witness who is also a beneficiary is still a competent witness, but the gift to them is void unless there are at least two other subscribing witnesses who are not beneficiaries. Georgia treats the witness's spouse differently from states like Massachusetts and Vermont: someone may witness a will that leaves a gift to their spouse, and that fact goes only to how credible the witness is, not to the validity of the gift.
O.C.G.A. § 53-4-23
Georgia sets the lowest threshold in the country. Every individual 14 years of age or older may make a will, unless labouring under a legal disability arising from a want of capacity or a want of perfect liberty of action. A criminal conviction does not deprive anyone of the power to make one.
O.C.G.A. § 53-4-10
O.C.G.A. § 53-4-20 (Required writing; signing; witnesses; codicil). In writing and signed by the testator (or by another in the testator's presence and at their express direction), attested and subscribed in the testator's presence by two or more competent 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 Georgia. Requirements change. Confirm the current rules for your state before you sign.
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