Virginia Will and Trust Laws: Witnesses, Holographic Wills (2026)

In Virginia, a will must be in writing and signed by the testator, or by another person in the testator's presence and by the testator's direction (Va. Code 64.2-403(A)), and a will not wholly in the testator's handwriting must be signed or acknowledged in the presence of at least two competent witnesses "who are present at the same time and who subscribe the will in the presence of the testator" (64.2-403(C)). A will wholly in the testator's handwriting needs no witnesses at signing, but two disinterested witnesses must prove the handwriting (64.2-403(B)). Notarization is not required; it is used only for the optional self-proving certificate (64.2-452, 64.2-453). Revocable living trusts are governed by Virginia's Uniform Trust Code, Chapter 7 of Title 64.2.

Virginia also has a harmless-error rule, but a narrow one: it cannot excuse a missing testator's signature (with two listed exceptions) and is available only in a circuit-court proceeding filed within one year of death (64.2-404). How these rules compare with other states is covered on the wills and trusts laws by state hub.

Information last verified on 2026-10-20. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers Virginia statutes on making, signing, changing and revoking wills (Va. Code Title 64.2, Chapters 3 and 4, and 20-111.1) and on revocable living trusts (Virginia's Uniform Trust Code, Title 64.2, Chapter 7). It does not cover what happens when someone dies without a will or how estate administration works (see Virginia probate), small-estate procedures (see the Virginia small estate affidavit page), powers of attorney (see Virginia power of attorney laws), or taxes. A living will is a health-care directive, not a will; see the Virginia advance directive tool.

What makes a will valid in Virginia?

Who may make a will

Section 64.2-401(A) allows "any individual" to make a will disposing of the estate that would otherwise pass by intestacy. Subsection (B) sets the exclusions: "An individual is not capable of making a will if he is (i) of unsound mind or (ii) an unemancipated minor." The section does not state a minimum age as a number; it excludes an unemancipated minor.

Writing and signature

Under 64.2-403(A), "No will shall be valid unless it is in writing and signed by the testator, or by some other person in the testator's presence and by his direction, in such a manner as to make it manifest that the name is intended as a signature."

Two witnesses, present at the same time

The witness rule is in 64.2-403(C):

"C. A will not wholly in the testator's handwriting is not valid unless the signature of the testator is made, or the will is acknowledged by the testator, in the presence of at least two competent witnesses who are present at the same time and who subscribe the will in the presence of the testator. No form of attestation of the witnesses shall be necessary." (Va. Code 64.2-403(C))

The text sets four requirements:

• At least two competent witnesses.
• Signing or acknowledgment. The testator either signs in their presence or acknowledges the will in their presence.
• Present at the same time. Both witnesses must be present together when the testator signs or acknowledges.
• Subscribing in the testator's presence. Each witness signs in the testator's presence. Subsection (C) does not add a requirement that the witnesses subscribe in each other's presence, and "No form of attestation of the witnesses shall be necessary."

Interested witnesses

Under 64.2-405, "No person is incompetent to testify for or against a will solely by reason of any interest he possesses in the will or the estate of the testator." That section speaks to the witness's competence to testify; it does not itself take away a gift to a witness.

Wills of servicemembers

Under 64.2-408(A), a will made by a person while in the military service of the United States (as defined in the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act) "that purports on its face to be witnessed as required by § 64.2-403, upon proof of the signature of the testator by any two disinterested witnesses, shall be presumed, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, to have been executed in accordance with the requirements of that section."

A separate list for personal items

Under 64.2-400(B), if a will, or a trust instrument that was revocable immediately before the settlor's death, refers to a written statement or list disposing of tangible personal property, the list "shall be given effect to the extent that it describes items of tangible personal property and their intended recipients with reasonable certainty and is signed by the testator or settlor although it does not satisfy the requirements for a will or trust instrument."

Does a Virginia will need to be notarized? The self-proving certificate

No. Section 64.2-403 does not require a notary. A notary or other authorized officer is used to make a will self-proved, which lets the court accept the witnesses' sworn statements instead of live testimony. Under 64.2-452:

"A will, at the time of its execution or at any subsequent date, may be made self-proved by the acknowledgment thereof by the testator and the affidavits of the attesting witnesses, each made before an officer authorized to administer oaths under the laws of the Commonwealth or the laws of the state where acknowledgment occurred, or before an officer of the foreign service of the United States, a consular agent, or any other person authorized by regulation of the United States Department of State to perform notarial acts in the place in which the act is performed, and evidenced by the officer's certificate, attached or annexed to the will." (Va. Code 64.2-452)

Section 64.2-452 provides an affidavit-style certificate and 64.2-453 an acknowledgment-style certificate; the forms are set out in those sections and are not reproduced here.

Are handwritten (holographic) wills valid in Virginia?

Yes, with a proof condition. Under 64.2-403(B):

"B. A will wholly in the testator's handwriting is valid without further requirements, provided that the fact that a will is wholly in the testator's handwriting and signed by the testator is proved by at least two disinterested witnesses." (Va. Code 64.2-403(B))

Two points follow from the text. The will must be "wholly" in the testator's handwriting; a typed or printed will with a handwritten signature does not qualify and must meet the two-witness rule in subsection (C). And while no witnesses are needed when the will is written, at least two disinterested witnesses must later prove that it is wholly in the testator's handwriting and signed by the testator.

Are oral (nuncupative) wills valid?

Not for an ordinary testator. Section 64.2-403(A) states that "No will shall be valid unless it is in writing."

The wills chapter keeps one older carve-out. Under 64.2-408(B), "Notwithstanding the provisions of § 64.2-403, a person while in the military service of the United States, or a seaman or mariner while at sea, may dispose of his personal estate in the same manner as he might heretofore have done." The provision is limited to personal estate and to those groups, and the Code does not describe that older manner.

Electronic wills and remote witnessing

Virginia's wills chapter (64.2-400 through 64.2-458) contains no electronic-will provision. It requires a will "in writing" (64.2-403(A)) and, for a will not wholly in the testator's handwriting, witnesses "who are present at the same time" (64.2-403(C)), and it makes no provision for electronic signatures or electronic presence. Virginia's Uniform Electronic Transactions Act also carves wills out:

"(b) This chapter does not apply to a transaction to the extent it is governed by: (1) A law governing the creation and execution of wills, codicils, or testamentary trusts;" (Va. Code 59.1-481(b)(1))

When a will was not signed correctly: harmless error

Virginia lets a court treat a defectively executed document as a valid will, but only within tight limits. Under 64.2-404(A), a document or writing not executed in compliance with 64.2-403 "shall be treated as if it had been executed in compliance with § 64.2-403 if the proponent of the document or writing establishes by clear and convincing evidence that the decedent intended the document or writing to constitute (i) the decedent's will, (ii) a partial or complete revocation of the will, (iii) an addition to or an alteration of the will, or (iv) a partial or complete revival of his formerly revoked will or of a formerly revoked portion of the will."

Subsection (B) sets the limits:

"B. The remedy granted by this section (i) may not be used to excuse compliance with any requirement for a testator's signature, except in circumstances where two persons mistakenly sign each other's will, or a person signs the self-proving certificate to a will instead of signing the will itself and (ii) is available only in proceedings brought in a circuit court under the appropriate provisions of this title, filed within one year from the decedent's date of death and in which all interested persons are made parties." (Va. Code 64.2-404(B))

A related section allows reformation for mistake. Under 64.2-404.1(A), a court "may reform the terms of a decedent's will, or any codicil thereto, even if unambiguous, to conform the terms to the decedent's intention if it is proved by clear and convincing evidence that both the decedent's intent and the terms of the will were affected by a mistake of fact or law, whether in expression or inducement."

Changing or revoking a Virginia will

Revocation by a physical act or a later will

Under 64.2-410(A), "If a testator with the intent to revoke a will or codicil, or some person at his direction and in his presence, cuts, tears, burns, obliterates, cancels, or destroys a will or codicil, or the signature thereto, or some provision thereof, such will, codicil, or provision thereof is void and of no effect." Under 64.2-410(B) and (C), a later will (or other writing executed like a will) that expressly revokes a former will voids it, and a later will or codicil that revokes part of a former will or is inconsistent with it revokes the former will to that extent, if the later instrument is effective at the testator's death.

Reviving a revoked will

Under 64.2-411, "Any will or codicil, or any part thereof that has been revoked pursuant to § 64.2-410 shall not be revived unless such will or codicil is reexecuted in the manner required by law. Such revival operates only to the extent that the testator's intent to revive the will or codicil is shown."

Divorce: four separate rules

Virginia handles divorce in four places, each with its own conditions.

1. The will (64.2-412(B)-(C)). "If, after making a will, the testator is divorced from the bond of matrimony or his marriage is annulled, the divorce or annulment revokes any disposition or appointment of property made by the will to the former spouse. Unless the will expressly provides otherwise, any provision conferring a general or special power of appointment on the former spouse or nominating the former spouse as executor, trustee, conservator, or guardian is also revoked." Under 64.2-412(C), the property passes as if the former spouse had failed to survive the testator.

2. A revocable trust (64.2-412(D) and (G)). Unless the trust instrument expressly provides otherwise, and only for a trust the settlor created before the triggering event:

• On a divorce or annulment, if the trust was revocable immediately before it, "a provision of such revocable trust transferring property to or conferring any beneficial interest on the settlor's former spouse is revoked upon the divorce or the annulment," and the property is administered as if the former spouse had failed to survive the divorce or annulment (64.2-412(D)(1)).
• Earlier still, when an action is filed for divorce, annulment or legal separation, or by either spouse for separate maintenance, and the trust was revocable at the time of filing, a provision of the trust "conferring a power, including a power of appointment, on the spouse or nominating or appointing the spouse as a fiduciary, including trustee, trust director, conservator, or guardian, is revoked upon the filing" (64.2-412(D)(2)). This reaches the spouse's powers and fiduciary roles, not the spouse's beneficial interest.
• These trust rules apply "only to the extent the event causing the revocation under subsection D occurs on or after July 1, 2018" (64.2-412(G)).

Provisions of a will or revocable trust revoked solely by section 412 are revived on the testator's or settlor's remarriage to the former spouse, if there is no later will, trust revocation (other than under this section), or inconsistent codicil or amendment (64.2-412(E)). Under 64.2-412(F), "Except as provided in this section, no change of circumstances shall be deemed to revoke a will or trust instrument."

3. Beneficiary designations (Va. Code 20-111.1). This rule sits in the domestic-relations title, not the wills chapter:

"A. Except as otherwise provided under federal law or law of this Commonwealth, upon the entry of a decree of annulment or divorce from the bond of matrimony on and after July 1, 1993, any revocable beneficiary designation contained in a then existing written contract owned by one party that provides for the payment of any death benefit to the other party is revoked." (Va. Code 20-111.1(A))

A "death benefit" includes payments under "a life insurance contract, annuity, retirement arrangement, compensation agreement or other contract designating a beneficiary" (20-111.1(B)). The benefit is paid as if the former spouse had predeceased, and a payor that pays under the contract's terms is discharged unless it receives written notice of the revocation before paying (20-111.1(A)). The section does not apply to the extent a divorce or annulment decree or a written agreement of the parties provides a contrary result as to specific death benefits, or "to any trust or any death benefit payable to or under any trust" (20-111.1(C)). Every divorce or annulment decree entered on or after July 1, 2012 must carry a bold notice that designations "may or may not be automatically revoked" and that a party who intends to revoke one is responsible for following the provider's instructions (20-111.1(E)).

Federal law limits this rule. For employer plans governed by ERISA, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Egelhoff v. Egelhoff, 532 U.S. 141 (2001), that federal law pre-empts a state statute revoking a spouse's beneficiary designation on divorce, as applied to those plans. For federal employees' group life insurance (FEGLI) policies, it held in Hillman v. Maretta, 569 U.S. 483 (2013), that FEGLIA pre-empts the remedy in Virginia's own 20-111.1(D), which otherwise makes a former spouse who receives a pre-empted benefit personally liable to the person who would have taken it (see the wills and trusts hub for the federal layer).

4. Transfer on death deeds (64.2-632(A)(5)). Under the Virginia Real Property Transfer on Death Act, "If, after making a transfer on death deed, the transferor is divorced a vinculo matrimonii or his marriage is annulled, the divorce or annulment revokes any transfer to a former spouse as designated beneficiary unless the transfer on death deed expressly provides otherwise."

Marriage and children after the will

• Spouse married after the will. Under 64.2-422, a spouse who married the testator after the will and is not provided for "shall receive the same share of the estate such spouse would have received if the decedent left no will, unless it appears from the will or from the provisions of a valid premarital or marital agreement that the omission was intentional."
• Child born or adopted after the will, no children at signing. Under 64.2-419(A), the child, if neither provided for nor mentioned in the will, takes the share the child would have received had the testator died intestate.
• Child born or adopted after the will, a living child provided for. Under 64.2-420(A), a child "who is neither provided for nor expressly excluded by the will is entitled to the lesser of" the intestate share or "the equivalent in amount to any bequests and devises to any child named in the will," and if more than one child takes, "the largest aggregate bequest or devise to any child."

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

Limits on what a Virginia will can do

Spouse's elective share. Under 64.2-308.3(A), "The surviving spouse of a decedent who dies domiciled in this state has a right of election, under the limitations and conditions stated in this article, to take an elective-share amount equal to 50 percent of the value of the marital-property portion of the augmented estate." Under 64.2-308.3(B), the spouse's homestead allowance, exempt property and family allowance "are not charged against but are in addition to the elective-share amount."

The marital-property portion depends on the length of the marriage. Section 64.2-308.4(B) multiplies the augmented estate by a percentage that runs from 3 percent for a marriage of less than one year to 100 percent for a marriage of 15 years or more. The schedule is in the statute; this page does not calculate a share.

The deadlines are short. The election must be made no later than six months after the later of the will's admission to probate or the qualification of an administrator, by a writing recorded in the court or clerk's office, and the complaint to determine the elective share must be filed no later than six months after the election (64.2-308.12).

Omitted spouse and children. Sections 64.2-419, 64.2-420 and 64.2-422, described above, protect a spouse married after the will and a child born or adopted after it.

No-contest clauses. In Keener v. Keener (Record No. 082280, Sept. 18, 2009), the Supreme Court of Virginia restated its rule from Womble v. Gunter, 198 Va. 522 (1956), that "a no-contest provision in a will should be strictly enforced according to its terms." Because the testator in Keener relied on a trust for the disposition of his property, the court held it "appropriate to give full effect to no-contest provisions in such trusts for the same reasons that support the enforcement of such provisions when they appear in wills."

The court also held that "No-contest provisions are strictly construed," because provisions that work a forfeiture "will not be enforced except according to their clear terms." On the facts there, a child's opening of an intestate administration of the estate was not an objection to or contest of any provision of the trust, so it did not trigger the trust's forfeiture clause.

Will contests. Under 64.2-448(A), a person interested in the will who was not already before the court in the probate proceeding may file a complaint to impeach or establish the will "within one year from the date of the order" described in that subsection. Under 64.2-454.1, where a presumption of undue influence arises in a will contest, the finder of fact presumes undue influence unless it finds the decedent intended the document to be the will.

Keeping and delivering a will

Safekeeping during life. Under 64.2-409(A), "A person or his attorney may, during the person's lifetime, lodge for safekeeping with the clerk of the circuit court serving the jurisdiction where the person resides any will executed by such person."

Concealing a will. Under Va. Code 18.2-504, "If any person fraudulently destroy or conceal any will or codicil, with intent to prevent the probate thereof, he shall be guilty of a Class 6 felony."

Revocable living trusts in Virginia

The trust code

Virginia's Uniform Trust Code is Chapter 7 of Title 64.2 (64.2-700 et seq.), enacted by Chapter 935 of the 2005 Acts of Assembly. Under 64.2-700(A), it "applies to express inter vivos trusts, charitable or noncharitable, and trusts created pursuant to a statute, judgment, or decree that requires the trust to be administered in the manner of an express trust."

Creating a trust

Under 64.2-720(A), "A trust is created only if: 1. The settlor has capacity to create a trust; or when the trust is created by the settlor's agent under a power of attorney, which expressly authorizes the agent to create a trust on the settlor's behalf; 2. The settlor or his agent indicates an intention to create the trust; 3. The trust has a definite beneficiary" (or is a charitable, animal-care or noncharitable-purpose trust); "4. The trustee has duties to perform; and 5. The same person is not the sole trustee and sole beneficiary." None of those requirements is a witness or notary requirement.

Under 64.2-725, "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."

Capacity

Under 64.2-750, "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, and how to revoke or amend

Section 64.2-751(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 July 1, 2006."

Section 64.2-751(C) sets the method:

"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, by any method manifesting clear and convincing evidence of the settlor's intent." (Va. Code 64.2-751(C))

Others may act only within limits. An agent may exercise the settlor's powers under a power of attorney "that expressly authorizes such action except to the extent expressly prohibited by the terms of the trust" (64.2-751(E)), and a conservator or guardian only to the extent the trust terms expressly authorize it or "if authorized by the court supervising the conservatorship or guardianship for good cause shown" (64.2-751(F)). Powers of attorney are covered on the Virginia power of attorney laws page.

Undue influence in trust contests (2026)

Chapter 506 of the 2026 Acts of Assembly added 64.2-724.1, a trust counterpart to the will-contest rule in 64.2-454.1:

"In addition to any other relevant provision of law, where a presumption of undue influence arises in any action contesting the validity of a trust or trust instrument created pursuant to the provisions of Article 1 (§ 64.2-700 et seq.), the finder of fact shall presume that the undue influence was exerted over the decedent unless, based on all the evidence introduced at trial, the finder of fact finds that the decedent did intend for such real or personal property to be conveyed or transferred as indicated in the contested document or instrument." (Va. Code 64.2-724.1)

Creditors

Under 64.2-747(A)(1), "During the lifetime of the settlor, the property of a revocable trust is subject to claims of the settlor's creditors."

Certification of trust

Under 64.2-804, a trustee may furnish a certification of trust instead of a copy of the trust instrument to a person other than a beneficiary. Virginia's list of contents includes the trust's taxpayer identification number. "A certification of trust need not contain the dispositive terms of a trust" (64.2-804(D)), and a person who relies on it "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" (64.2-804(F)).

After the settlor dies: notice and the contest deadline

Under 64.2-775(B)(3), a trustee must, "Within 60 days after the date the trustee acquires knowledge of the creation of an irrevocable trust, or the date the trustee acquires knowledge that a formerly revocable trust has become irrevocable, whether by the death of the settlor or otherwise," notify the qualified beneficiaries of the trust's existence, the settlor's identity, the right to request a copy of the trust instrument and the right to a trustee's report.

The contest window is in 64.2-753(A):

"A. A person may commence a judicial proceeding to contest the validity 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." (Va. Code 64.2-753(A))

Pour-over wills

Under 64.2-427(A), a will may leave property to the trustee of a trust established or to be established during the testator's lifetime, or at death if the trust is identified in the will and its terms are set out in a written instrument other than a will "executed before, concurrently with, or after the execution of the testator's will." The gift "is not invalid because the trust is amendable or revocable, or because the trust was amended after the execution of the will or the testator's death." The section applies to the will of a testator who dies after June 30, 1999 (64.2-427(E)).

One limit: "C. Unless the testator's will provides otherwise, a revocation or termination of the trust before the testator's death causes the devise or bequest to lapse." Under 64.2-427(D), if no trustee is a Virginia resident individual or an entity authorized to do trust business in Virginia, each nonresident trustee must file a written consent to service of process with the circuit court clerk before the personal representative distributes to the trust.

Virginia wills and trusts at a glance

Recent changes

• Trust undue-influence presumption (2026). Chapter 506 of the 2026 Acts of Assembly, effective July 1, 2026, added 64.2-724.1, quoted above.
• Tangible personal property lists (2024). Section 64.2-400 was most recently amended by Chapter 576 of the 2024 Acts of Assembly; the current text, quoted above, covers a list referred to in a will or in a trust instrument that was revocable immediately before the settlor's death.
• Will-contest undue-influence presumption (2022). Chapter 265 of the 2022 Acts of Assembly added 64.2-454.1.
• Divorce and revocable trusts (2018). Chapter 44 of the 2018 Acts of Assembly amended 64.2-412; its trust rules apply only to revocation events on or after July 1, 2018.

Making a will in practice

The site's free Virginia will-maker tool can help draft a basic will. Whatever produces the document, signing must follow 64.2-403: unless the will is wholly in the testator's handwriting, at least two competent witnesses present at the same time, each subscribing in the testator's presence. The self-proving certificate under 64.2-452 or 64.2-453 is a separate, optional step. Complex estates, blended families, business interests or tax questions are reasons to consult a lawyer licensed in Virginia. The tool is not legal advice.

Related pages

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

This article provides general legal information about Virginia law on wills and revocable trusts as of 2026-10-20. It is not legal advice. For advice about a specific situation, contact a lawyer licensed in Virginia or the clerk of the circuit court.

Last updated: 2026-10-20.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many witnesses does a will need in Virginia?

At least two competent witnesses, present at the same time when the testator signs or acknowledges the will, who subscribe it in the testator's presence (Va. Code 64.2-403(C)). A will wholly in the testator's handwriting needs no witnesses at signing, but two disinterested witnesses must later prove the handwriting and signature (64.2-403(B)).

Is a handwritten will valid in Virginia?

Yes, if it is wholly in the testator's handwriting and signed, and at least two disinterested witnesses prove that at probate (64.2-403(B)). A typed will with a handwritten signature is not wholly handwritten and must meet the two-witness rule in 64.2-403(C).

Does a will have to be notarized in Virginia?

No. A notary or other authorized officer is used only to make a will self-proved under 64.2-452 or 64.2-453, through the testator's acknowledgment and the witnesses' affidavits, at signing or at any later date.

Can I make an electronic will or use video witnesses in Virginia?

Virginia's wills chapter contains no electronic-will provision. Section 64.2-403 requires a will in writing and, unless it is wholly handwritten, two witnesses present at the same time who subscribe in the testator's presence, and Virginia's electronic transactions act does not apply to the execution of wills (59.1-481(b)(1)).

Can a Virginia court save a will that was not signed correctly?

Under 64.2-404, a court can treat a defectively executed document as a will on clear and convincing evidence of intent, but only in a circuit-court proceeding filed within one year of death with all interested persons as parties. The rule cannot excuse a missing testator's signature, except where two people mistakenly sign each other's will or the testator signed the self-proving certificate instead of the will.

Does divorce revoke a will in Virginia?

A divorce or annulment after the will is made revokes gifts by will to the former spouse, and, unless the will provides otherwise, powers of appointment and nominations of the former spouse as executor, trustee, conservator or guardian (64.2-412(B)). Remarriage to the former spouse revives them unless a later will or an inconsistent codicil intervenes (64.2-412(E)). Separate rules with their own dates and exceptions cover revocable trusts, beneficiary designations and transfer on death deeds, and federal law limits the designation rule; see the divorce section.

Is a living trust revocable in Virginia?

Yes, unless its terms expressly make it irrevocable (64.2-751(A)). That default does not apply to a trust created under an instrument executed before July 1, 2006.

How long do you have to contest a revocable trust in Virginia?

The earlier of two years after the settlor's death or six months after the trustee sent a copy of the trust instrument and the notice described in 64.2-753(A).

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

A surviving spouse of a Virginia domiciliary may elect 50 percent of the marital-property portion of the augmented estate, which grows with the length of the marriage (64.2-308.3, 64.2-308.4). The election is due within six months after the later of the will's probate or an administrator's qualification (64.2-308.12).