Will Execution Requirements in Illinois
At a glance
| Governing law | 755 ILCS 5/4-3 (Probate Act of 1975) is the core execution statute; § 4-1 sets capacity and § 4-6 handles a witness who is also a beneficiary. Illinois follows the common-law attested-will model and is NOT a notarial-will state. Illinois also has a separate Electronic Wills, Electronic Estate Planning Documents, and Remote Witnesses Act (755 ILCS 6/) authorizing electronic and remotely-witnessed wills |
|---|---|
| Minimum age & capacity | 18 or older and 'of sound mind and memory' (§ 4-1(a)). There is also a rebuttable presumption that a will is void if made after the testator was adjudicated disabled and a guardian was appointed with a finding of no testamentary capacity, unless clear and convincing evidence shows capacity at signing (§ 4-1(b)) |
| Writing & signature | Must be in writing and 'signed by the testator or by some person in his presence and by his direction' (§ 4-3(a)). A person who signs for the testator must do so in the testator's presence and at the testator's direction. Illinois has no rule requiring the signature to be at the end of the document |
| Witnesses required | Two or more 'credible witnesses' who attest 'in the presence of the testator' (§ 4-3(a)). The testator may sign in front of the witnesses or acknowledge an earlier signature to them; the witnesses need not be present at the same time as each other, but each must sign in the testator's presence. A gift to a witness is void unless the will is also validly attested by enough other witnesses, though that witness still takes up to their intestate share (§ 4-6(a)) |
| Notarization & self-proving | Notarization is NOT required to sign a will — a notary is not a witness. A will is made self-proving under § 6-4: the witnesses' statements can be given by an attestation clause that is part of the will or by a signed affidavit, so the will can be admitted to probate without the witnesses testifying in person |
| Handwritten (holographic) wills | No. Illinois requires two credible witnesses (§ 4-3), so a handwritten, unwitnessed will is not valid, and Illinois has no holographic-will exception. (A handwritten will that was validly made under another state's law may still be honored here.) |
| Electronic & remote wills | Yes. Illinois permits electronic wills and remote audio-video witnessing under the Electronic Wills, Electronic Estate Planning Documents, and Remote Witnesses Act (755 ILCS 6/), effective 2021 and expanded in 2024. An electronic will is a tamper-evident electronic record; § 15-10 lets the two witnesses attest through real-time audio-video communication rather than in the same room |
| Harmless-error / curative doctrine | No. Illinois has no harmless-error or substantial-compliance statute — § 4-3's requirements (a signed writing attested by two credible witnesses in the testator's presence) must be met, and a will that misses a formality cannot be saved by showing the testator intended it as their will |
Requirements one by one
Governing law
Illinois's will-execution rules live in the Probate Act of 1975, 755 ILCS 5/, Article IV. The core statute is § 4-3 (writing, signature, and two credible witnesses); § 4-1 sets who may make a will; and § 4-6 handles a witness who is also a beneficiary. Illinois uses the traditional common-law "attested will" and is not a civil-law notarial-will state. Separately, Illinois has enacted a full electronic-wills scheme — the Electronic Wills, Electronic Estate Planning Documents, and Remote Witnesses Act, 755 ILCS 6/ — so unlike most states it allows a will to be signed electronically and witnessed by live video.
Minimum age & capacity
Any person who "has attained the age of 18 years and is of sound mind and memory" may make a will (§ 4-1(a)). Illinois adds a specific protection: § 4-1(b) creates a rebuttable presumption that a will is void if it was made after the testator had been adjudicated disabled and a guardian was appointed with a finding that the testator lacked testamentary capacity — a presumption overcome only by clear and convincing evidence of capacity at the time of signing.
Writing & signature
The will must be in writing and "signed by the testator or by some person in his presence and by his direction" (§ 4-3(a)). If you cannot sign yourself, another person may sign your name, but only while in your presence and at your direction. Illinois does not require the signature to appear at the end of the document.
Witnesses required
An Illinois will must be "attested in the presence of the testator by 2 or more credible witnesses" (§ 4-3(a)). Two points matter in practice:
- The witnesses sign in your presence. Each witness must attest while in the testator's presence. Illinois does not additionally require the two witnesses to be present at the same time as each other, and the testator may either sign in front of a witness or acknowledge an earlier signature to that witness (§ 6-4(a)).
- A beneficiary should not witness. Under § 4-6(a), if a witness (or their spouse) is given a gift in the will, that gift is void unless the will is also attested by enough other, disinterested witnesses. The interested witness can still recover up to the share they would have received had the will not existed, but the safe course is two witnesses who inherit nothing.
Notarization & self-proving
An Illinois will does not need to be notarized — a notary is not a substitute for a witness. What makes a will "self-proving" is § 6-4: the two witnesses' statements about the execution can be supplied by an attestation clause that forms part of the will, or by a signed affidavit attached to it, instead of by live testimony. A will admitted on an attestation clause or affidavit spares the family from tracking the witnesses down years later.
Handwritten (holographic) wills
Illinois does not recognize a holographic will. Because § 4-3 requires two credible witnesses, a will written entirely in your own hand but signed with no witnesses has no effect in Illinois — there is no handwritten-will exception. (If you handwrote and signed a will in a state that does recognize holographic wills, Illinois may still honor it as a foreign will.)
Electronic & remote wills
Illinois is one of the states that allows electronic and remotely-witnessed wills. The Electronic Wills, Electronic Estate Planning Documents, and Remote Witnesses Act (755 ILCS 6/1-1 and following) took effect in 2021 and was expanded in 2024. An electronic will is a "tamper-evident electronic record" the testator signs electronically. And under § 15-10, the two credible witnesses can attest "through audio-video communication" — seeing and hearing the testator in real time from a different location — rather than being in the same room, so long as the will names Illinois as its place of execution and the witnesses are in the United States. Electronic wills carry extra handling rules (a certified paper copy and a tamper-evidence showing at probate), so many people still choose a traditional paper signing.
Harmless-error / curative doctrine
Illinois is a strict-compliance state. There is no harmless-error or substantial-compliance statute, so § 4-3's requirements — a signed writing attested by two credible witnesses in the testator's presence — have to be met. A will that misses a formality cannot be rescued by proof that the testator meant it to be their will. (The electronic-wills law does not relax these formalities; it changes how "signature" and "presence" can be satisfied, not whether witnesses are needed.)
What trips people up
Witnesses must actually sign in your presence. Section 4-3(a) requires the two witnesses to attest in the presence of the testator. Mailing a will to a witness to sign elsewhere breaks the rule. (The only way witnesses may be remote is the video-witnessing procedure under the Electronic Wills Act, which has its own steps.)
A beneficiary-witness can lose their gift. People often ask a family member who is also inheriting to sign as a witness. Under § 4-6(a) that gift is void unless two other disinterested witnesses also signed. Use witnesses who take nothing under the will.
Notarizing is not witnessing. A notarized but unwitnessed will is not valid in Illinois — § 4-3 requires two credible witnesses. The notary matters only for a self-proving affidavit under § 6-4, which comes on top of proper witnessing.
Electronic wills have extra steps. Illinois does allow an electronic or video-witnessed will (755 ILCS 6/), but the process — tamper-evident records, identity checks, a certified paper copy for probate — is more involved than a paper signing. It is a real option, not a shortcut.
Common questions
Does my Illinois will have to be notarized? No. Illinois requires two credible witnesses, not a notary (§ 4-3(a)). Notarization is used only for the optional self-proving affidavit under § 6-4, which speeds up probate; it never replaces the witnesses.
Can I just handwrite my will? Not in Illinois. A handwritten will with no witnesses is invalid because § 4-3 requires two credible witnesses; Illinois has no holographic exception. You still need two witnesses.
Can I sign my will online or over video in Illinois? Yes — Illinois is one of the states that allows it. Under the Electronic Wills Act (755 ILCS 6/), you can sign an electronic will and have two witnesses attest by real-time audio-video, following the Act's identity and record-keeping rules (§ 15-10).
Do both witnesses have to watch me sign at the same moment? No. Each witness must sign in your presence, but Illinois does not require the two witnesses to be together at the same time; you can also acknowledge an earlier signature to a witness (§ 6-4(a)).
Statutes and sources
- 755 ILCS 5/4-1 — capacity: a person 18 or older and of sound mind and memory; rebuttable-void presumption after adjudicated disability. https://law.justia.com/codes/illinois/chapter-755/act-755-ilcs-5/article-iv/ (accessed 2026-07-11)
- 755 ILCS 5/4-3 — signing and attestation: a writing signed by the testator and attested in the testator's presence by two or more credible witnesses. https://law.justia.com/codes/illinois/chapter-755/act-755-ilcs-5/article-iv/ (accessed 2026-07-11)
- 755 ILCS 5/4-6 — beneficiary as witness: a gift to a witness is void unless enough other witnesses attest; the witness still takes up to their intestate share. https://codes.findlaw.com/il/chapter-755-estates/il-st-sect-755-5-4-6/ (accessed 2026-07-11)
- 755 ILCS 5/6-4 — admission to probate: witness statements by testimony, attestation clause, or affidavit (Illinois's self-proving mechanism). https://codes.findlaw.com/il/chapter-755-estates/il-st-sect-755-5-6-4/ (accessed 2026-07-11)
- 755 ILCS 6/1-1 — short title of the Electronic Wills, Electronic Estate Planning Documents, and Remote Witnesses Act (eff. 2021; expanded 2024). https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ILCS/details?ActID=4176&ChapterID=60&ChapAct=755+ILCS+6%2F (accessed 2026-07-11)
- 755 ILCS 6/15-10 — remote attestation for a will: two credible witnesses may attest through real-time audio-video communication. https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ILCS/details?ActID=4176&ChapterID=60&ChapAct=755+ILCS+6%2F (accessed 2026-07-11)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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