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.
West Virginia accepts a will wholly in your own handwriting with no witnesses. Anything else needs two witnesses present at the same time.
A West Virginia will must be in writing and signed by the testator, or by someone else in the testator's presence and at their direction, in a way that makes it clear the name is meant as a signature. Unless the will is wholly in the testator's handwriting, the signature must be made or the will acknowledged in the presence of at least two competent witnesses present at the same time, and those witnesses must subscribe the will.
W. Va. Code § 41-1-3
No. Section 41-1-3 requires two competent witnesses present at the same time, not a notary, and notarizing a West Virginia will does not substitute for them.
W. Va. Code § 41-1-3
Yes. West Virginia handles it inside its main execution statute: a will wholly in the handwriting of the testator does not need the two witnesses that any other will requires. Wholly is the operative word, so a printed form with handwritten blanks does not qualify.
W. Va. Code § 41-1-3
W. Va. Code § 41-1-3 (Must be in writing; witnesses). If not wholly written by the testator, the signature must be made or acknowledged before at least two competent witnesses present at the same time, who subscribe in the presence of the testator and of each other.
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 West Virginia. Requirements change. Confirm the current rules for your state before you sign.
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