Alabama Will and Trust Laws: Two Witnesses, Self-Proving (2026)

Under Alabama law, a will must be in writing, signed by the testator (or by another person in the testator's presence and at the testator's direction), and signed by at least two witnesses who each saw the signing or the testator's acknowledgment of the signature or of the will (Ala. Code 43-8-131). No notary is required for validity. Living trusts are governed by the Alabama Uniform Trust Code, Chapter 3B of Title 19 (19-3B-101).

Alabama's execution article dates from its 1982 probate code (Acts 1982, No. 82-399). Compared with other states on the wills and trusts laws by state hub, three points stand out: a handwritten will signed in Alabama needs the same two witnesses as any other, the execution statute requires a will "in writing" and Alabama's electronic-transactions act does not apply to will execution, and a written revocable trust is changed by a later writing delivered to the trustee.

Information last verified on 2026-10-19. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers Alabama statutes on making, signing, changing and revoking wills (Ala. Code Title 43, Chapter 8, chiefly Article 7) and on revocable living trusts (the Alabama Uniform Trust Code, Title 19, Chapter 3B), plus the divorce rule in Ala. Code 30-4-17. It does not cover what happens when someone dies without a will or how estate administration works (see Alabama probate), small-estate procedures (see the Alabama small estate affidavit page), powers of attorney (see Alabama power of attorney laws), or taxes. A living will is a health-care directive, not a will; see the Alabama advance directive tool.

What makes a will valid in Alabama?

Two sections set the basic rules. Section 43-8-130 sets capacity: "Any person 18 or more years of age who is of sound mind may make a will." That is a year younger than Alabama's general definition of a minor for the probate chapter, "A person who is under 19 years of age" (43-8-1(18)).

Section 43-8-131 sets the form:

"Except as provided within Section 43-8-135, every will shall be in writing signed by the testator or in the testator's name by some other person in the testator's presence and by his or her direction, and shall be signed by at least two persons each of whom witnessed either the signing or the testator's acknowledgment of the signature or of the will." (Ala. Code 43-8-131)

Read closely, the section requires four things:

• A writing. Every will must be in writing.
• The testator's signature. The testator signs, or someone else signs the testator's name in the testator's presence and by his or her direction.
• Two witnesses who sign. At least two people sign the will.
• What each witness saw. Each witness must have witnessed either the signing itself or the testator's acknowledgment of the signature or of the will.

The section's text does not say where or when the witnesses must sign, and it does not require the testator to declare the document to be a will. Under 43-8-1(34), "will" "Includes codicil and any testamentary instrument which merely appoints an executor or revokes or revises another will," so a codicil follows the same execution rule.

Who can be a witness

Section 43-8-134 is short: "(a) Any person generally competent to be a witness may act as a witness to a will. (b) A will or any provision thereof is not invalid because the will is signed by an interested witness." A beneficiary who signs as a witness therefore does not cause the will, or the gift to that beneficiary, to fail under this section.

Wills signed in another state or country

Section 43-8-135 is Alabama's choice-of-law rule for execution:

"A written will is valid if executed in compliance with Section 43-8-131 or if its execution complies with the law at the time of execution of the place where the will is executed, or with the law of the place where at the time of execution or at the time of death the testator is domiciled, has a place of abode or is a national." (Ala. Code 43-8-135)

Does an Alabama will need to be notarized? The self-proving affidavit

No notary appears in section 43-8-131. A notary, or another officer authorized to administer oaths, comes in through the optional self-proving procedure in section 43-8-132. A will can be made self-proved in two ways:

• At signing. Under 43-8-132(a), "Any will may be simultaneously executed, attested, and made self-proved, by acknowledgment thereof by the testator and affidavits of the witnesses, each made before an officer authorized to administer oaths under the laws of the state where execution occurs and evidenced by the officer's certificate, under official seal."
• Later. Under 43-8-132(b), "An attested will may at any time subsequent to its execution be made self-proved by the acknowledgment thereof by the testator and the affidavits of the witnesses, each made before an officer authorized to administer oaths under the laws of the state where the acknowledgment occurs."

The effect is set out in 43-8-132(c): "If the will is self-proved, as provided in this section, compliance with signature requirements for execution is conclusively presumed, other requirements of execution are presumed subject to rebuttal without the testimony of any witness, and the will shall be probated without further proof, unless there is proof of fraud or forgery affecting the acknowledgment or affidavit."

The statute sets out the certificate and affidavit wording in 43-8-132 itself; this page does not reproduce it.

Proving a will that is not self-proved

A will without the self-proving affidavit is proved by its witnesses. Section 43-8-167(a) provides that wills offered for probate "must be proved by one or more of the subscribing witnesses, or if they be dead, insane or out of the state or have become incompetent since the attestation, then by the proof of the handwriting of the testator, and that of at least one of the witnesses to the will. Where no contest is filed, the testimony of only one attesting witness is sufficient." The probate process itself is covered on the Alabama probate page.

Are handwritten (holographic) wills valid in Alabama?

A handwritten will signed in Alabama is held to the same rule as any other will. Section 43-8-131 requires every will, "Except as provided within Section 43-8-135," to be signed by at least two witnesses, and Article 7 of the probate code (43-8-130 to 43-8-141) contains no separate section for a will written in the testator's own hand. A handwritten will without two witnesses' signatures does not meet section 43-8-131.

The exception is the one in 43-8-135. A written will is valid in Alabama if its execution complied with the law of the place where it was signed, or of the place where the testator was domiciled, had a place of abode or was a national at the time of signing or at death. A handwritten will made under another state's holographic-will rule can qualify on that basis; the question is what that other place's law required.

Are oral (nuncupative) wills valid?

An oral will does not meet Alabama's execution statute: section 43-8-131 requires every will to "be in writing," and the out-of-state rule in 43-8-135 applies only to "A written will." No section of the probate code sets requirements for making an oral will. The only mention of nuncupative wills in the chapter is a parenthetical in the proof section, 43-8-167(a), which begins "Wills offered for probate, except nuncupative wills, must be proved by one or more of the subscribing witnesses."

Electronic wills and remote witnessing

Alabama's execution statute calls for a will "in writing signed by the testator" and "signed by at least two persons each of whom witnessed either the signing or the testator's acknowledgment" (43-8-131). Article 7 contains no provision for electronic wills, electronic signatures on wills, or witnessing a will by video.

Alabama's general electronic-signature law does not fill that gap. Under 8-1A-3(b)(1), the Alabama Uniform Electronic Transactions Act "does not apply to a transaction to the extent it is governed by" "A law governing the creation and execution of wills, codicils, or testamentary trusts."

Alabama does have a remote-notarization statute, 36-20-73.1, amended by Act 2026-536 effective October 1, 2026. It governs how a signer appears before an acknowledging notary; it is not a will-execution statute, and it does not change the two-witness rule in 43-8-131.

One expired emergency rule is part of the history. In a supplemental proclamation dated April 2, 2020, effective April 3, 2020, the Governor provided during the COVID-19 emergency that "Any person who witnesses a document through videoconference technology may be considered an 'in person' witness, provided that the presence and identity of such witnesses are validated by the notary at the time of the signing by the same identifications required under current law." The proclamation stayed in effect for the duration of the public health emergency unless rescinded or extended, and the Governor terminated the COVID-19 state of emergency originally proclaimed on March 13, 2020, effective 11:59 p.m. on July 6, 2021. That rule is no longer in effect.

No harmless-error rule

Some states let a court admit a will with an execution defect if there is clear proof the testator intended it. Alabama's Article 7 (43-8-130 to 43-8-141) contains no such section. The presumptions in 43-8-132(c) apply only to a will that has been made self-proved.

Changing or revoking an Alabama will

Revocation by a later will or by physical act

Section 43-8-136 provides two methods:

"(a) A will or any part thereof is revoked by a subsequent will which revokes the prior will or part expressly or by inconsistency. (b) A will is revoked by being burned, torn, canceled, obliterated, or destroyed, with the intent and for the purpose of revoking it by the testator or by another person in his or her presence by his or her consent and direction. If the physical act is by someone other than the testator, consent, and direction of the testator must be proved by at least two witnesses." (Ala. Code 43-8-136)

A codicil is a "will" under 43-8-1(34), so a later codicil can revoke part of an earlier will expressly or by inconsistency, and it must be executed under 43-8-131.

Reviving an earlier will

Destroying a later will does not automatically bring back the earlier one. Under 43-8-138(a), if a second will that would have revoked the first is later revoked by an act under 43-8-136, "the first will is revoked in whole or in part unless it is evident from the circumstances of the revocation of the second will or from testator's contemporary or subsequent declarations in writing, signed by the testator and attested as prescribed in Section 43-8-131, that he or she intended the first will to take effect as executed."

Divorce and annulment: the will

Section 43-8-137 applies when the testator is divorced, or the marriage annulled, after the will is signed:

"If after executing a will the testator is divorced or his or her marriage annulled, the divorce or annulment revokes any disposition or appointment of property made by the will to the former spouse, any provision conferring a general or special power of appointment on the former spouse, and any nomination of the former spouse as executor, trustee, or guardian, unless the will expressly provides otherwise." (Ala. Code 43-8-137)

The same section adds three limits. Provisions "revoked solely by this section" are "revived by testator's remarriage to the former spouse." A decree of separation "which does not terminate the status of husband and wife is not a divorce for purposes of this section." And "No change of circumstances other than as described in this section revokes a will," so marriage or the birth of a child does not revoke an Alabama will (the omitted-spouse and omitted-child rules below give those people a share instead).

Divorce and annulment: trusts and other instruments

The will rule is not the whole story. Section 30-4-17, in Alabama's domestic relations title, applies to any "governing instrument," defined as "An instrument executed by the divorced individual before the divorce or annulment" (30-4-17(a)(4)). Under 30-4-17(b), except as provided by the express terms of a governing instrument, a court order, or a contract relating to the division of the marital estate made between the divorced individuals, divorce or annulment "revokes any revocable" disposition or appointment of property made by the divorced individual to the former spouse in a governing instrument. That reaches a revocable trust the divorced person created before the divorce.

The section has its own conditions:

• Revival. Under 30-4-17(e), provisions revoked solely by the section "are revived by the divorced individual's remarriage to the former spouse or by a nullification of the divorce or annulment."
• Some life insurance excluded. Under 30-4-17(h), the section does "not apply to any insurance policy for which the former spouse is named beneficiary, if the former spouse is listed as owner of the policy or makes premium payments on the policy following the divorce or annulment."
• Employer plans. Where a state statute like this one would revoke a former spouse's beneficiary designation in an employer plan governed by ERISA, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Egelhoff v. Egelhoff, 532 U.S. 141 (2001), that federal law pre-empts the state statute as applied to those plans (see the wills and trusts hub for the federal layer).

Slaying and, since October 1, 2026, elder abuse

Section 43-8-253 bars a surviving spouse, heir or devisee who feloniously and intentionally kills the decedent from benefits under the will, and the estate passes as if the killer had predeceased the decedent. Act 2026-287, effective October 1, 2026, extended the section to a person who abuses the decedent. Under new 43-8-253(e)(1), "an individual shall be deemed to have abused another if the individual is convicted of elder abuse and neglect in the first or second degree or financial exploitation of an elderly person in the first or second degree, pursuant to Article 9 of Chapter 6 of Title 13A."

Limits on what an Alabama will can do

Spouse's elective share. Under 43-8-70(a), "If a married person domiciled in this state dies, the surviving spouse has a right of election to take an elective share of the estate. The elective share shall be the lesser of: (1) All of the estate of the deceased reduced by the value of the surviving spouse's separate estate; or (2) One-third of the estate of the deceased." The petition is due "within six months after the date of death, or within six months after the probate of the decedent's will, whichever limitation last expires" (43-8-73(a)).

Spouse married after the will. Under 43-8-90(a), a surviving spouse who married the testator after the will was signed and is not provided for "shall receive the same share of the estate he or she would have received if the decedent left no will unless it appears from the will that the omission was intentional or the testator provided for the spouse by transfer outside the will and the intent that the transfer be in lieu of a testamentary provision be reasonably proven."

Children born or adopted after the will. Under 43-8-91(a), an omitted child born or adopted after the will receives a share equal to what the child would have received had the testator died intestate unless "(1) It appears from the will that the omission was intentional; (2) When the will was executed the testator had one or more children and devised substantially all his or her estate to the other parent of the omitted child; or (3) The testator provided for the child by transfer outside the will and the intent that the transfer be in lieu of a testamentary provision be reasonably proven."

The intestate shares these sections refer to are explained on the Alabama probate page.

A relative who dies first. Under the anti-lapse rule in 43-8-224, if a devisee "who is a grandparent or a lineal descendant of a grandparent of the testator" is dead when the will is signed, fails to survive the testator, or is treated as if he or she predeceased the testator, "the issue of the deceased devisee who survive the testator by five days take in place of the deceased devisee."

Contracts not to revoke. A contract to make a will, not to revoke one, or to die intestate, if executed after January 1, 1983, "can be established only by: (1) Provisions of a will stating material provisions of the contract; (2) An express reference in a will to a contract and extrinsic evidence proving the terms of the contract; or (3) A writing signed by the decedent evidencing the contract" (43-8-250).

Documents referred to in the will. Under 43-8-139, "Any writing in existence when a will is executed may be incorporated by reference if the language of the will manifests this intent and describes the writing sufficiently to permit its identification."

Keeping the will safe and getting it to court

After the testator dies, anyone holding the original has a statutory duty. Under 43-8-270, "on request of an interested person, any person having custody of a will of the testator shall deliver it with reasonable promptness to a person able to secure its probate and if none is known, to an appropriate court." A person who willfully fails to deliver it is liable for the damages that result, and refusing after a court order is punishable as contempt.

Timing matters too: "Wills shall not be effective unless filed for probate within five years from the date of the death of the testator" (43-8-161, which continues with conditions for some out-of-state cases).

Residents of one county have a deposit option. Under a local act for Baldwin County, "Any testator who resides in Baldwin County may deposit his or her will with the Baldwin County Probate Court," for a filing fee "not to exceed twenty-five dollars ($25)" (45-2-83.40).

Revocable living trusts in Alabama

The trust code

Alabama's trust statute is Chapter 3B of Title 19: "This chapter may be cited as the Alabama Uniform Trust Code" (19-3B-101). It defines "revocable," as applied to a trust, as "revocable by the settlor without the consent of the trustee or a person holding an adverse interest" (19-3B-103(15)).

Creating a trust

Under 19-3B-402(a), "A trust is created only if: (1) the settlor has capacity to create a trust; (2) the settlor indicates an intention to create the trust; (3) the trust has a definite beneficiary" or is a charitable trust, a trust for the care of an animal, or a trust for a noncharitable purpose; "(4) the trustee has duties to perform; and (5) the same person is not the sole trustee and sole beneficiary."

The trust code itself does not impose will-style signing formalities on a lifetime trust. Section 19-3B-407 provides: "Except as required by a statute other than this chapter, a trust need not be evidenced by a trust instrument, but the creation of an oral trust and its terms may be established only by clear and convincing evidence." A trust that holds land is different. Under 19-3B-1301, "No trust concerning lands, except such as results by implication or construction of law, or which may be transferred or extinguished by operation of law, can be created, unless by instrument in writing, signed by the party creating or declaring the same, or his or her agent or attorney lawfully authorized thereto in writing."

Capacity

Under 19-3B-601, "The capacity required to create, amend, revoke, or add property to a revocable trust, or to direct the actions of the trustee of a revocable trust, is the same as that required to make a will."

Revocable by default, with a date limit

Section 19-3B-602(a) states: "Unless the terms of a trust expressly provide that the trust is irrevocable, the settlor may revoke or amend the trust. This subsection does not apply to a trust created under an instrument executed before January 1, 2007." A trust made under an older instrument does not get this default.

How to revoke or amend

Section 19-3B-602(c) controls the method, and it contains an Alabama proviso that the uniform act does not:

"(c) The settlor may revoke or amend a revocable trust: (1) by substantial compliance with a method provided in the terms of the trust; or (2) if the terms of the trust do not provide a method or the method provided in the terms is not expressly made exclusive, by: (A) a later will or codicil that expressly refers to the trust or that specifically devises property that would otherwise have passed according to the terms of the trust; or (B) any other method manifesting clear and convincing evidence of the settlor's intent; provided, however, that a written revocable trust may only be amended and revoked by a later written instrument delivered to the trustee." (Ala. Code 19-3B-602(c))

The proviso is the point to notice for most living trusts, which are written: the statute's words are that a written revocable trust "may only be amended and revoked by a later written instrument delivered to the trustee."

Under 19-3B-602(e), an agent under a power of attorney may revoke or amend the trust only to the extent the terms of the trust expressly authorize it, and under 19-3B-602(f) a conservator or guardian may do so only with the approval of the court supervising the conservatorship or guardianship.

Creditors

Under 19-3B-505(a)(1), "During the lifetime of the settlor, the property of a revocable trust is subject to claims of the settlor's creditors." After the settlor's death, under 19-3B-505(a)(3), property of a trust that was revocable immediately before death "is subject to claims of the settlor's creditors, costs of administering the settlor's estate, the expenses of the settlor's funeral and disposal of remains, the homestead allowance, exempt property, and family allowance to a surviving spouse and children, to the extent the settlor's probate estate is inadequate to satisfy those claims, costs, expenses, and homestead allowance, exempt property, and family allowance," subject to the settlor's right to direct the source from which liabilities are paid. Section 19-3B-505 was amended by Act 2026-584, effective October 1, 2026; the passages quoted here are the amended text.

Certification of trust

A trustee can give a bank or title company a certification of trust instead of the full instrument. Under 19-3B-1013(f), "A person who acts in reliance upon a certification of trust without knowledge that the representations contained therein are incorrect is not liable to any person for so acting and may assume without inquiry the existence of the facts contained in the certification."

After the settlor dies: notice and the contest deadline

Under 19-3B-813(b)(3), within 60 days after the trustee "acquires knowledge that a formerly revocable trust has become irrevocable, whether by the death of the settlor or otherwise," the trustee "shall notify the qualified beneficiaries of the trust's existence, of the identity of the settlor or settlors, of the right to request a copy of the trust instrument, and of the right to a trustee's most recent report." Under 19-3B-813(e), that duty applies "only to trustees who accept a trusteeship on or after January 1, 2007, to irrevocable trusts created on or after January 1, 2007, and to revocable trusts which become irrevocable on or after January 1, 2007."

The contest deadline is in 19-3B-604(a):

"A person may commence a judicial proceeding to contest the validity of all or part of the terms of a trust that was revocable at the settlor's death within the earlier of: (1) two years after the settlor's death; or (2) six months after the trustee sent the person a copy of the trust instrument and a notice informing the person of the trust's existence, of the trustee's name and address, and of the time allowed for commencing a proceeding." (Ala. Code 19-3B-604(a))

Pour-over wills

A pour-over will leaves property to the trustee of a trust. Section 43-8-140 allows a devise to the trustee of a trust if "the trust is identified in the testator's will and its terms are set forth in a written instrument (other than a will) executed before or concurrently with the execution of the testator's will or in the valid last will of a person who has predeceased the testator," and the section applies regardless of whether the trust holds any property or how much.

The same section adds: "The devise is not invalid because the trust is amendable or revocable, or because the trust was amended after the execution of the will or after the death of the testator." The limit: "A revocation or termination of the trust before the death of the testator causes the devise to lapse."

Alabama wills and trusts at a glance

Recent changes

• Act 2026-287 (effective October 1, 2026). Extended the forfeiture rule in 43-8-253 to a person convicted of elder abuse and neglect or financial exploitation of an elderly person in the first or second degree.
• Act 2026-584 (effective October 1, 2026). Amended 19-3B-505 on creditors' claims, including the wording of paragraph (a)(3) quoted above.
• Act 2026-536 (effective October 1, 2026). Amended the remote-notarization section, 36-20-73.1; the will-execution rule in 43-8-131 is unchanged.

Making a will in practice

The site's free Alabama will-maker tool can help draft a basic will. Whatever produces the document, signing must follow section 43-8-131, and the self-proving procedure in 43-8-132 affects how the will is later proved. Complex estates, blended families, business interests or tax questions are reasons to consult a lawyer licensed in Alabama. The tool is not legal advice.

Members of the armed forces have one federal option as well: under 10 U.S.C. 1044d, a military testamentary instrument is exempt from state formalities and has the same legal effect as a will executed under the law of the state where it is presented for probate (see the wills and trusts hub for the federal layer).

Related pages

• Wills and trusts laws by state
• Alabama probate
• Alabama small estate affidavit
• Alabama power of attorney laws

This article provides general legal information about Alabama law on wills and revocable trusts as of 2026-10-19. It is not legal advice. For advice about a specific situation, contact a lawyer licensed in Alabama or the probate court in your county.

Last updated: 2026-10-19.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many witnesses does a will need in Alabama?

At least two. Section 43-8-131 requires the will to be signed by at least two persons, each of whom witnessed either the testator's signing or the testator's acknowledgment of the signature or of the will.

Does a will have to be notarized in Alabama?

No. Section 43-8-131 does not require a notary. A notary or other officer authorized to administer oaths is used to make the will self-proved under 43-8-132, which lets it be probated without further proof unless there is proof of fraud or forgery affecting the acknowledgment or affidavit.

Is a handwritten will valid in Alabama?

A handwritten will signed in Alabama needs two witnesses like any other will (43-8-131). A will whose execution complied with the law of another place named in 43-8-135 can be valid; the article's handwritten-wills section explains that rule.

Can a beneficiary witness a will in Alabama?

Section 43-8-134(b) provides that a will or any provision in it is not invalid because the will is signed by an interested witness.

Can I make an electronic will in Alabama?

Section 43-8-131 requires a will in writing signed by the testator and two witnesses, and the Alabama Uniform Electronic Transactions Act does not apply to the law governing the creation and execution of wills (8-1A-3(b)(1)).

Does divorce revoke a will in Alabama?

Divorce or annulment after the will is signed revokes the will's provisions for the former spouse unless the will expressly provides otherwise (43-8-137); the rest of the will stands. Separate rules with their own exceptions in 30-4-17 reach revocable trusts and other instruments; see the divorce section.

How do I revoke a will in Alabama?

Under 43-8-136, by a later will that revokes it expressly or by inconsistency, or by burning, tearing, canceling, obliterating or destroying it with intent to revoke. If someone else performs the act, it must be in the testator's presence and by the testator's consent and direction, proved by at least two witnesses.

Is a living trust revocable in Alabama?

For a trust created under an instrument executed on or after January 1, 2007, yes unless its terms expressly make it irrevocable (19-3B-602(a)); that default does not apply to older instruments. Under 19-3B-602(c), a written revocable trust may only be amended and revoked by a later written instrument delivered to the trustee.

How long do you have to contest a living trust in Alabama?

Under 19-3B-604(a), a contest of a trust that was revocable at the settlor's death must be brought within the earlier of two years after death or six months after the trustee sent the person a copy of the trust instrument and the notice the section describes.

Can a spouse be left out of a will in Alabama?

A surviving spouse of a married person domiciled in Alabama has a right to elect the lesser of the whole estate reduced by the spouse's separate estate or one-third of the estate (43-8-70), by petition within six months after death or after probate of the will, whichever expires last (43-8-73).