Will Execution Requirements in Pennsylvania

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Age and capacity

Section 2501 states the rule in full: “Any person 18 or more years of age who is of sound mind may make a will.” Whether a particular person was of sound mind is a fact-specific question the statute does not decide here.

Writing and signature

Under § 2502, the testator signs the written will “at the end thereof.” The statute also says words following the signature, whether added before or after execution, do not invalidate what precedes it. That rule preserves the earlier text; it does not itself make later words part of the will.

Witnesses at execution and probate

A testator who personally signs an ordinary will does not need attesting witnesses under § 2502; the former witness section, § 2504, is repealed. Signing by mark changes the execution rule: the testator makes the mark in the presence of two witnesses who sign in the testator's presence. If another person signs for the testator, the testator must expressly direct it and declare the instrument to be the will in the presence of two witnesses who sign in the testator's presence (§ 2502(2)-(3)).

The later probate step is separate. Section 3132 requires two competent witnesses to prove a will. For a will personally signed by the testator, subscribing witnesses are preferred if readily available, while proof of the testator's own signature is preferred to proof of a subscribing witness's signature. The statute thus addresses a will signed without attesting witnesses.

Notarization and self-proving

Notarization is not an execution condition in § 2502. Under § 3132.1(b), an attested will may be made self-proved at execution or later through the testator's acknowledgment and witness affidavits before an officer authorized to administer oaths, or through the statute's attorney-and-certification route. Section 3132.1(a) excludes a will signed by mark or by another from its usual affidavit-as-proof shortcut.

Handwritten wills

A handwritten document can meet § 2502 if it is a writing the testator signs at the end; the section does not demand typing or attesting witnesses for a personally signed will. The former nuncupative-will provision, § 2503, is repealed.

What trips people up

Section 2504.1 also accepts a will executed under the law of the place where the testator was domiciled when it was signed or at death. A will made in another jurisdiction therefore calls for that domicile-law check before applying Pennsylvania's § 2502 form rule alone.

Common questions

Must probate witnesses have watched a personally signed will being signed? Section 3132 prefers subscribing witnesses if they exist and are readily available, but also prefers proof of the testator's signature. It does not make attestation at execution a condition for that kind of will.

Can a self-proving affidavit be added later? Yes. Section 3132.1(b) says an attested will may be made self-proved “at the time of its execution or at any subsequent date,” using its stated acknowledgment and affidavit process.

Statutes and sources

• 20 Pa.C.S. § 2501 — “Any person 18 or more years of age who is of sound mind may make a will.” https://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/LI/CT/HTM/20/00.025..HTM (accessed 2026-09-26).
• 20 Pa.C.S. § 2502 — “Every will shall be in writing and shall be signed by the testator at the end thereof, subject to the following rules and exceptions:” https://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/LI/CT/HTM/20/00.025..HTM (accessed 2026-09-26).
• 20 Pa.C.S. § 2503 — “Section 2503 was repealed December 10, 1974, P.L.867, No.293, effective immediately.” https://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/LI/CT/HTM/20/00.025..HTM (accessed 2026-09-26).
• 20 Pa.C.S. § 2504 — “Section 2504 was repealed December 10, 1974, P.L.867, No.293, effective immediately.” https://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/LI/CT/HTM/20/00.025..HTM (accessed 2026-09-26).
• 20 Pa.C.S. § 2504.1 — “A will is validly executed if executed in compliance with section 2502 (relating to form and execution of a will), or in compliance with the law of the jurisdiction where the testator was domiciled at the time of the execution of the will or at the time of his death.” https://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/LI/CT/HTM/20/00.025..HTM (accessed 2026-09-26).
• 20 Pa.C.S. § 3132 — “All wills shall be proved by the oaths or affirmations of two competent witnesses”. https://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/LI/CT/HTM/20/00.031..HTM (accessed 2026-09-26).
• 20 Pa.C.S. § 3132.1 — “An attested will may at the time of its execution or at any subsequent date be made self-proved by the acknowledgment thereof by the testator and the affidavits of the witnesses”. https://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/LI/CT/HTM/20/00.031..HTM (accessed 2026-09-26).