Nebraska: Will Execution Requirements

Requirements one by one

Governing law

Nebraska's will-execution rules are in the Nebraska Probate Code, Chapter 30, which is
Nebraska's version of the Uniform Probate Code. The core statute is § 30-2327 (writing,
signature, two witnesses); § 30-2326 says who may make a will; § 30-2328 recognizes
handwritten (holographic) wills; § 30-2329 provides the self-proving affidavit; § 30-2330
handles a witness who is also a beneficiary; and § 30-2331 recognizes wills executed in
other states. Nebraska uses the common-law "attested will" and also accepts holographic
wills; it is not a civil-law "notarial will" state, and it has not adopted electronic
wills.

Minimum age & capacity

Any individual who is "eighteen or more years of age or is not a minor and who is of sound
mind" may make a Nebraska will (§ 30-2326). The statute does not define "sound mind";
Nebraska courts supply the working test — you must know the nature and extent of what you
own, know your natural heirs, and understand the disposition you are making. Capacity is
judged at the moment of signing.

Writing & signature

A Nebraska will must be in writing and "signed by the testator or in the testator's name
by some other individual in the testator's presence and by his direction" (§ 30-2327). If
you cannot sign yourself, someone may sign for you, but only in your presence and at your
direction. Nebraska reads the "writing" requirement generously: the Nebraska Supreme Court
has held that a will may be handwritten, typewritten, printed, completed on a form, or any
combination, as long as it uses a permanent technique and shows testamentary intent.
There is no rule that the signature appear at the end.

Witnesses required

A Nebraska attested will needs at least two witnesses, "each of whom witnessed either the
signing or the testator's acknowledgment of the signature or of the will" (§ 30-2327).
That gives two paths: a witness can watch you sign, or can witness your later
acknowledgment that the signature or the will is yours. Nebraska does not require the two
witnesses to be present at the same time, and the acknowledgment need not be sworn — but
the witnesses must sign the will before you die.

On interested witnesses, Nebraska uses a middle rule. A gift to a witness does not
invalidate the will, but "unless there is at least one disinterested witness," an
interested witness may take "only to an amount or extent not exceeding" their intestate
share (§ 30-2330). Note the threshold: Nebraska needs only one disinterested witness to
preserve the interested witness's full gift, unlike states that require two. The clean
practice is still to use two witnesses who inherit nothing.

Notarization & self-proving

A Nebraska will does not have to be notarized to be valid — a notary is not one of the two
required witnesses. What a notary supports is the self-proving affidavit under § 30-2329,
which the testator and witnesses may sign at execution or later before an officer
authorized to administer oaths. Nebraska gives the self-proving affidavit real force:
executing the acknowledgment and affidavits "shall be sufficient to satisfy the
requirements of the signing of the will by the testator and the witnesses under section
30-2327," and Nebraska courts treat a conforming self-proved will's execution as
conclusively presumed. That makes the affidavit both a probate shortcut and a safeguard.

Handwritten (holographic) wills

Nebraska recognizes holographic wills. Under § 30-2328, a handwritten instrument is valid
with no witnesses "if the signature, the material provisions, and an indication of the
date of signing are in the handwriting of the testator." Only the material provisions and
the signature (and date) must be handwritten — courts disregard preprinted or typed
portions when deciding whether the handwritten parts express a valid will. Nebraska lists
a date as a required element, but softens it: an undated holographic will can still stand
if it is the only such instrument, is not inconsistent with any like instrument, or its
date can be figured out from the contents or other evidence. Dating your handwritten will
in your own hand avoids the whole question.

Electronic & remote wills

Nebraska does not permit electronic wills. It has not enacted the Uniform Electronic Wills
Act or any electronic-wills statute, so § 30-2327's requirement of a physically signed
writing witnessed by two people still controls. A will that exists only as a computer
file, or that was "signed" by typing a name or witnessed only over video, is not a valid
Nebraska will.

Harmless-error / curative doctrine

Nebraska has no harmless-error rule for attested wills. Although it adopted the Uniform
Probate Code, it did not enact the UPC's later harmless-error provision or any
substantial-compliance cure, and § 30-2327 states the requirements in mandatory terms — a
will "is required to be in writing," and "is required to be signed by at least two
individuals." A will with a witnessing or signature defect generally cannot be rescued by
proving after the fact that you meant it as your will. Nebraska's flexibility comes
instead from the holographic will, which is a separate valid form rather than a cure for a
defective attested will.

What trips people up

Notarizing a will is not the same as witnessing it. Taking a typed will to a notary
does not satisfy § 30-2327, which requires two witnesses. Notarization matters only for the
self-proving affidavit under § 30-2329, attached to an already-witnessed will — though in
Nebraska that affidavit does double duty and can itself satisfy the signing requirements.

Date your handwritten will. Nebraska's holographic-will statute lists the date as a
required element in your own hand (§ 30-2328). While an undated holographic will can
sometimes be saved, that turns into a fact fight; writing the date yourself avoids it.

A witness who inherits can lose part of the gift. If a beneficiary also serves as a
witness and there is not at least one disinterested witness, that witness is limited to
their intestate share (§ 30-2330). The will survives, but the extra gift can be cut back.
Use disinterested witnesses.

No second chance for a botched attested will. Because Nebraska has no harmless-error
rule, an attested will that misses a formality generally fails — the only fallback is
whether the document independently qualifies as a valid holographic will under § 30-2328.

Common questions

Does my Nebraska will have to be notarized? No. Nebraska requires two witnesses, not a
notary (§ 30-2327). Notarization only supports the self-proving affidavit under § 30-2329,
which speeds up probate (and in Nebraska can satisfy the signing requirement), but the
witnesses are still the core requirement.

Can I handwrite my own will without witnesses? Yes. Nebraska recognizes holographic
wills: if your signature, the material provisions, and a date are all in your own
handwriting, the will is valid with no witnesses (§ 30-2328). Include the date in your own
hand.

Can I sign my Nebraska will online or over video? No. Nebraska has not adopted
electronic wills, so a will must be a physical signed writing witnessed in person by two
people (§ 30-2327). Signing electronically or witnessing by video does not make a valid
Nebraska will.

What if one of my witnesses is also a beneficiary? The will is still valid, but if
there is not at least one disinterested witness, that witness can take only up to their
intestate share (§ 30-2330). Using two disinterested witnesses keeps every gift intact.

Statutes and sources

• Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-2326 — who may make a will: any individual 18 or older (or not a minor) and of sound mind.
  https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=30-2326 (accessed 2026-07-11)
• Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-2327 — core execution: writing, signature (or a proxy in the testator's presence), and two witnesses who witnessed the signing or the testator's acknowledgment.
  https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=30-2327 (accessed 2026-07-11)
• Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-2328 — holographic wills: signature, material provisions, and a date in the testator's handwriting, with fallbacks when the date is missing.
  https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=30-2328 (accessed 2026-07-11)
• Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-2329 — self-proving affidavit; executing it can itself satisfy the signing requirements of § 30-2327.
  https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=30-2329 (accessed 2026-07-11)
• Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-2330 — who may witness; an interested witness is limited to their intestate share unless at least one disinterested witness also signed.
  https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=30-2330 (accessed 2026-07-11)
• Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-2331 — choice of law: a written will valid where executed or under the testator's domicile/abode/nationality law is valid in Nebraska.
  https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=30-2331 (accessed 2026-07-11)