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.
Missouri requires witnesses to sign in your presence, and an interested witness forfeits whatever their gift exceeds what they would have inherited anyway.
Every Missouri will must be in writing and signed by the testator, or by someone else at the testator's direction and in the testator's presence. It must then be attested by two or more competent witnesses who subscribe their names to the will in the presence of the testator. The witnesses signing in your presence is part of the statute, not merely good practice.
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 474.320
No. Section 474.320 requires two competent witnesses, not a notary, and notarizing a Missouri will does not replace them. A notary appears only in a separate self-proving affidavit.
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 474.320
Any person competent as a witness generally may attest a Missouri will, and no will is invalidated by being attested by an interested witness. But unless the will is also attested by two disinterested witnesses, the interested witness forfeits whatever their gift exceeds in value what they would have received had you died without a will, measured at the date of death.
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 474.330
Any person of sound mind eighteen years or older may make a Missouri will, as may a minor emancipated by adjudication, marriage, or entry into active military duty.
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 474.310
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 474.320 (Will form, execution, attestation). In writing, signed by the testator (or by some person at their direction and in their presence), and attested by two or more competent witnesses subscribing in the presence of the testator.
Links last checked 2026-08-25.
This is general information about the law, not legal advice, and it has not been reviewed by an attorney licensed in Missouri. Requirements change. Confirm the current rules for your state before you sign.
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