Wyoming: Will Execution Requirements
The short answer
To make a valid ordinary will in Wyoming you must be of legal age (18) and sound mind, put the will in writing (or typewritten), sign it (or have someone sign for you in your presence and at your direction), and have two competent witnesses. Since 2023, those witnesses may appear in person OR by real-time audio-video, and the will can be signed electronically. Notarization is not required, but a self-proving affidavit speeds up probate. Wyoming also recognizes a handwritten (holographic) will with no witnesses if it is entirely in your handwriting and signed by you. Wyoming has no harmless-error rule, so a will that misses a required formality generally cannot be saved.
Ask Ezel about your situation
This is the general rule in Wyoming. Ezel applies current Wyoming law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law | Wyoming Statutes Title 2 (Wills, Decedents' Estates and Probate Code), Chapter 6 (Wills). The core execution statute is W.S. 2-6-112; § 2-6-101 sets who may make a will, § 2-6-113 the holographic will, § 2-6-114 the self-proving affidavit, § 2-6-115 who may witness, and § 2-6-116 the choice-of-law rule. Wyoming keeps its own concise attested-will statute (it did not adopt the full Uniform Probate Code execution article or the Uniform Electronic Wills Act), but in 2023 (SF 99, ch. 170) it added permanent authority for remote audio-video witnessing and electronic signing in § 2-6-112(b) |
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| Minimum age & capacity | 'Any person of legal age and sound mind may make a will and dispose of all of his property by will except what is sufficient to pay his debts, and subject to the rights of the surviving spouse and children' (§ 2-6-101). Legal age in Wyoming is 18. 'Sound mind' is not defined by statute; Wyoming applies the familiar test — the testator must understand they are making a will, know the natural objects of their bounty, and know the nature and extent of their property. Note that Wyoming law limits what a will can do (it cannot defeat debts or the surviving spouse's and children's protected rights), though that goes to a will's effect, not its execution |
| Writing & signature | A will must be 'in writing, or typewritten... and signed by the testator or by some person in his presence and by his express direction' (§ 2-6-112(a)). If you cannot sign yourself, another person may sign for you, but only in your presence and at your express direction. There is no signature-at-the-end rule. Under § 2-6-112(b), when audio-video witnessing is used the will may be signed electronically by secure means |
| Witnesses required | Two competent witnesses (§ 2-6-112(a)); any person 'generally competent to be a witness' may witness (§ 2-6-115). Since 2023 the witnesses 'may appear in person or by the use of audio-video communication technology,' provided they can see and hear the testator in real time and judge the testator's competency and free execution (§ 2-6-112(b)). Interested witness: a purging rule — 'no subscribing witness to any will can derive any benefit therefrom unless there are two (2) disinterested and competent witnesses to the same,' but a witness who would inherit in intestacy 'may still receive the portion to the extent and value of the amount devised' up to that intestate share (§ 2-6-112(a)) |
| Notarization & self-proving | Notarization is never required to make a Wyoming will valid — a notary is not a witness. A will may be made self-proving under § 2-6-114: the testator and the two witnesses swear an affidavit before an officer authorized to administer oaths, at execution or later, so the will can be admitted to probate without live witness testimony. The self-proving forms expressly accommodate witnesses 'appearing through the use of audio-video communication technology' and signing 'electronically... by secure means,' matching the 2023 remote-witnessing amendment |
| Handwritten (holographic) wills | Yes. A will that does not comply with § 2-6-112 'is valid as an holographic will, whether or not witnessed, if it is entirely in the handwriting of the testator and signed by the hand of the testator himself' (§ 2-6-113). Wyoming uses the STRICT test: the will must be ENTIRELY in the testator's own handwriting — not merely the 'material portions' — so any typed or pre-printed text can defeat it. The statute states no separate date requirement |
| Electronic & remote wills | Partly permitted — remote witnessing and electronic signing, but not a standalone electronic will. Wyoming did NOT adopt the Uniform Electronic Wills Act. Instead, § 2-6-112(b) (added 2023, SF 99) lets the two witnesses to an otherwise-ordinary will appear by real-time audio-video communication technology and sign the will electronically by secure means, and § 2-6-114 carries matching self-proving language. So a Wyoming will can be witnessed remotely and signed electronically, but it must still be a two-witness attested will (or a handwritten holographic will) — there is no separate electronic-will regime |
| Harmless-error / curative doctrine | No. Wyoming has no harmless-error or substantial-compliance statute — Chapter 6 contains no provision letting a court excuse a defective will on clear and convincing evidence of the testator's intent, and it never adopted UPC § 2-503. (A 2021 legislative draft that would have added a harmless-error rule as part of the Uniform Electronic Wills Act was not enacted; Wyoming instead adopted only the narrower 2023 remote-witnessing amendment.) Wyoming is a strict-compliance state: a will that misses a required formality generally cannot be saved, however clear the intent |
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Requirements one by one
Governing law
Wyoming's will-execution rules are in the Wyoming Statutes, Title 2 (Wills, Decedents' Estates and
Probate Code), Chapter 6 (Wills). The core statute is W.S. 2-6-112, which sets the writing and witness
requirements; § 2-6-101 says who may make a will; § 2-6-113 covers holographic wills; § 2-6-114 is the
self-proving affidavit; § 2-6-115 says who may witness; and § 2-6-116 is the choice-of-law rule. Wyoming
keeps its own concise attested-will statute — it did not adopt the full Uniform Probate Code execution
article or the Uniform Electronic Wills Act — but in 2023 it modernized § 2-6-112 to allow the witnesses
to appear by real-time audio-video and to sign the will electronically.
Minimum age & capacity
"Any person of legal age and sound mind may make a will and dispose of all of his property by will except
what is sufficient to pay his debts, and subject to the rights of the surviving spouse and children"
(§ 2-6-101). Legal age in Wyoming is 18. You must also be of sound mind; the statute does not define the
term, but Wyoming applies the familiar test: you must understand that you are making a will, know the
people who would normally inherit (the natural objects of your bounty), and know the general nature and
extent of your property. The closing clause is about what a will can do, not how it is signed — a Wyoming
will cannot cut off creditors or the protected shares of a surviving spouse and children.
Writing & signature
A Wyoming will must be "in writing, or typewritten... and signed by the testator or by some person in his
presence and by his express direction" (§ 2-6-112(a)). If you cannot sign yourself, another person may
sign for you, but only in your presence and at your express direction. There is no rule that the signature
appear at the end of the document. When the will is witnessed by audio-video under § 2-6-112(b), the
testator's and witnesses' signatures may be applied electronically by secure means.
Witnesses required
Wyoming requires two competent witnesses (§ 2-6-112(a)), and any person "generally competent to be a
witness" may serve (§ 2-6-115). Since 2023, the witnesses "may appear in person or by the use of
audio-video communication technology," so long as they can see and hear the testator in real time, can
judge the testator's competency, can sign the will securely, and can confirm the testator is signing
freely and voluntarily (§ 2-6-112(b)).
On interested witnesses, Wyoming uses a purging rule. "No subscribing witness to any will can derive any
benefit therefrom unless there are two (2) disinterested and competent witnesses to the same" — so a
beneficiary who is one of only two witnesses generally loses the gift. There is a cushion: if that witness
would have inherited in intestacy, they may still take up to their intestate share (§ 2-6-112(a)). The
will itself stays valid; only the excess gift is purged. Using two disinterested witnesses avoids the
problem entirely.
Notarization & self-proving
Notarization is never required to make a Wyoming will valid — a notary is not a witness. What a notary
adds is the option to make the will "self-proving." Under § 2-6-114, the testator and the two witnesses
swear an affidavit before an officer authorized to administer oaths — either at signing or later — so the
will can be admitted to probate without bringing the witnesses back to testify. Wyoming's self-proving
forms were updated to match the 2023 amendment: they expressly allow a witness "appearing through the use
of audio-video communication technology" and signing "electronically... by secure means."
Handwritten (holographic) wills
Wyoming recognizes holographic wills, but under a strict test. A will that does not meet the witnessing
rules "is valid as an holographic will, whether or not witnessed, if it is entirely in the handwriting of
the testator and signed by the hand of the testator himself" (§ 2-6-113). The key word is "entirely":
unlike states that require only the "material portions" to be handwritten, Wyoming requires the whole
will to be in your own hand. A form with pre-printed or typed text that you fill in by hand is not a valid
Wyoming holographic will. The statute states no separate date requirement.
Electronic & remote wills
Wyoming allows remote witnessing and electronic signing, but it does not have a standalone electronic
will. It did not adopt the Uniform Electronic Wills Act. Instead, § 2-6-112(b) — added in 2023 — lets the
two witnesses to an otherwise-ordinary will appear by real-time audio-video communication technology and
sign the will electronically by secure means, and § 2-6-114 carries matching self-proving language. So a
Wyoming will can be witnessed over live video and signed electronically, but it must still be a two-witness
attested will (or a fully handwritten holographic will). There is no separate "electronic will" that
dispenses with the two-witness requirement.
Harmless-error / curative doctrine
Wyoming has no harmless-error rule. Chapter 6 contains no provision letting a court treat a defective
document as a valid will on clear and convincing evidence of the testator's intent, and Wyoming never
adopted UPC § 2-503. (A 2021 legislative draft would have added a harmless-error rule as part of the
Uniform Electronic Wills Act, but that draft was not enacted; Wyoming adopted only the narrower 2023
remote-witnessing amendment.) Wyoming is a strict-compliance state: a will that misses a required formality
generally fails, no matter how clear it is that the person meant it as their will.
What trips people up
A handwritten will has to be entirely in your hand. Wyoming's holographic-will rule (§ 2-6-113) is
strict: the whole will must be in your own handwriting and signed by you. A pre-printed or typed form you
fill in by hand does not qualify — that kind of document needs two witnesses instead.
Remote witnessing is allowed, but the technical rules matter. Since 2023 your two witnesses can appear
by live audio-video (§ 2-6-112(b)), but they must be able to see and hear you in real time, judge your
competency, and sign securely. A recorded video or a phone call is not enough; it has to be real-time,
two-way, and the signatures applied by secure means.
There is no harmless-error fix. Because Wyoming never adopted a curative doctrine, a signing mistake
generally cannot be excused later. Follow one of the valid paths exactly — two competent witnesses (in
person or by audio-video), or a fully handwritten holographic will.
A witness who inherits can lose the gift. Under § 2-6-112(a), a gift to a subscribing witness is
purged unless two disinterested witnesses also signed (a witness-heir keeps at most their intestate share).
Use two disinterested witnesses so nothing is at risk.
Common questions
Can my witnesses watch me sign over video? Yes, since 2023. Wyoming allows the two witnesses to appear
by real-time audio-video communication technology and to sign the will electronically by secure means
(§ 2-6-112(b)), as long as they can see and hear you and judge that you are signing freely.
Can I handwrite my own will without witnesses? Yes, if you do it right. Wyoming recognizes a
holographic will that is entirely in your own handwriting and signed by you (§ 2-6-113). But every word
must be handwritten — a typed or pre-printed form will not qualify.
Does my Wyoming will have to be notarized? No. Notarization is never required for validity. A notarized
self-proving affidavit under § 2-6-114 is optional and only makes probate easier by removing the need for
the witnesses to testify.
If my will is missing a witness, can a court still accept it? Generally no. Wyoming has no harmless-error
rule, so a will that fails the two-witness requirement is not saved by proof of your intent — unless it
qualifies as a fully handwritten holographic will. Get the formalities right the first time.
Statutes and sources
- W.S. 2-6-101 — who may make a will: any person of legal age (18) and sound mind.
https://law.justia.com/codes/wyoming/title-2/chapter-6/article-1/section-2-6-101/ (accessed 2026-07-11) - W.S. 2-6-112 — execution: in writing or typewritten, signed by the testator (or a proxy in his presence and by his express direction), witnessed by two competent witnesses who may appear in person or by audio-video and sign electronically; interested-witness purging rule.
https://law.justia.com/codes/wyoming/title-2/chapter-6/article-1/section-2-6-112/ (accessed 2026-07-11) - W.S. 2-6-113 — holographic will valid, whether or not witnessed, if entirely in the testator's handwriting and signed by the testator.
https://law.justia.com/codes/wyoming/title-2/chapter-6/article-1/section-2-6-113/ (accessed 2026-07-11) - W.S. 2-6-115 — who may witness: any person generally competent to be a witness.
https://law.justia.com/codes/wyoming/title-2/chapter-6/article-1/section-2-6-115/ (accessed 2026-07-11) - W.S. 2-6-116 — validity of execution: a will is valid if executed under § 2-6-112 or § 2-6-113, or under the law of the place of execution or the testator's domicile.
https://law.justia.com/codes/wyoming/title-2/chapter-6/article-1/section-2-6-116/ (accessed 2026-07-11)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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