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.
Utah follows the Uniform Probate Code and is unusually explicit about what mental capacity actually means when you make a will.
A Utah will must be in writing, signed by the testator or in the testator's name by another individual in their conscious presence and at their direction, and signed by at least two individuals who each signed within a reasonable time after witnessing either the signing or the testator's acknowledgment of that signature or of the will. Witnesses may sign within a reasonable time afterwards rather than at the moment of signing, though having everyone present together is easier to prove later.
Utah Code § 75-2-502(1)
No. Section 75-2-502 requires two witnesses, not a notary, and notarizing a Utah will does not replace them. A notary appears only in connection with a separate self-proving affidavit.
Utah Code § 75-2-502
Yes. A will that does not meet the ordinary formalities is valid as a holographic will, witnessed or not, if the signature and the material portions of the document are in the testator's handwriting. Utah also allows intent to be established by outside evidence, including for a holographic will.
Utah Code § 75-2-502(2)
An individual may make a Utah will if they are 18 or older and have testamentary capacity when it is executed. The statute spells out what capacity means: being able to identify your family or the people in your life, understanding your relationship to them, understanding the nature and extent of what you own, and being able to form a plan for disposing of it.
Utah Code § 75-2-501
Utah Code § 75-2-502 (Execution -- Witnessed wills -- Holographic wills). Signed by at least two individuals, each of whom signed within a reasonable time after witnessing the signing or the testator's acknowledgment.
Links last checked 2026-08-25.
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 Utah. Requirements change. Confirm the current rules for your state before you sign.
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