How to Make a Valid Will in Georgia

Georgia in depth

Georgia is strict in one direction and unusually loose in two others. It flatly refuses to recognize handwritten (holographic) wills — a will needs two witnesses, no exceptions — yet it lets a 14-year-old make one, and it lets you disinherit your spouse entirely. Most people get at least one of these backwards.

The statute facts above give you the rules. This section covers where Georgia wills actually go wrong, and the one protection Georgia law builds in for a surviving spouse that surprises almost everyone: not an elective share, but Year's Support.

Five ways a Georgia will goes wrong

Most Georgia wills that fail, fail on how they were signed — or on a wrong assumption about what Georgia protects. These are the recurring ones.

1. 1

   Assuming a handwritten note counts as a will

   Georgia does not recognize holographic (handwritten, unwitnessed) wills at all. Every will must be in writing and attested and subscribed by two or more competent witnesses in the testator's presence (O.C.G.A. § 53-4-20). A heartfelt letter in your own hand, however clear and however clearly signed, is not a valid will in Georgia without those two witnesses.

2. 2

   Using a beneficiary as one of your two witnesses

   If a witness is also a beneficiary, the will still stands and the witness is still competent — but the gift to that witness is void unless at least two other witnesses signed who are not beneficiaries (O.C.G.A. § 53-4-23). Sign with two neutral witnesses who inherit nothing, and the problem never arises.

3. 3

   Assuming you can't disinherit a spouse

   You can. Georgia has no elective or forced share — a spouse left out of the will has no automatic claim to a fixed fraction of the estate. What a surviving spouse (and minor children) can do is petition the Probate Court for Year's Support (O.C.G.A. § 53-3-1), which is a different and often smaller thing. Plan around Year's Support, not a New York-style elective share that Georgia doesn't have.

4. 4

   Relying on a notary instead of two witnesses

   Notarization does not make a Georgia will valid — two witnesses do (O.C.G.A. § 53-4-20). A notary matters only for the optional self-proving affidavit, which speeds probate but adds nothing to the will's underlying validity (O.C.G.A. § 53-4-24). A carefully notarized will signed by fewer than two competent witnesses is not validly executed.

5. 5

   Signing electronically or by video

   As of 2026, Georgia has not adopted an electronic wills act, and § 53-4-20 requires witnesses to attest "in the presence of the testator." A scanned PDF, an e-signature, or a will "witnessed" over a video call is not a valid Georgia will. The valid route is still a physical document signed in wet ink with two witnesses physically present.

Georgia has no elective share — a spouse can be disinherited, but Year's Support fills the gap

This is the single most surprising Georgia rule. Georgia is not a community-property state and it has no elective or forced share for a surviving spouse. If your will leaves your spouse nothing, the will controls — there is no statute letting the spouse claim a guaranteed one-third or one-half against it the way New York or the community-property states allow.

What Georgia gives a surviving spouse and minor children instead is Year's Support: a claim, filed in the Probate Court, for property from the estate sufficient to support them for 12 months from the date of death (O.C.G.A. § 53-3-1). Year's Support takes priority over most debts and even over the will's own bequests, but its amount is what the court finds necessary for support — not a fixed fraction of the estate. If your plan depends on leaving a spouse little or nothing, understand that Year's Support, not an elective share, is what they can assert.

No handwritten wills: two witnesses, and no exceptions

Georgia is a two-witness state with none of the carve-outs some states keep. A will must be in writing, signed by the testator (or by someone else in the testator's presence and at the testator's express direction), and attested and subscribed in the testator's presence by two or more competent witnesses (O.C.G.A. § 53-4-20). A witness may attest by mark, but the two-witness floor never drops.

There is no holographic-will exception, no nuncupative (oral) will, and no military or mariner carve-out of the kind New York keeps. Because there is no harmless-error or dispensing power in Georgia's code, a court cannot rescue a will that was signed with only one witness by finding you "intended" it to be your will. Get two competent, disinterested witnesses in the room, or the document is not a will.

The beneficiary-witness trap: the will stands, the gift falls

Using someone who inherits under the will as one of your witnesses is a classic Georgia mistake. It does not void the will, and it does not make the witness incompetent. What it does is void the gift to that witness — unless there are at least two other subscribing witnesses who are not beneficiaries (O.C.G.A. § 53-4-23).

There is a narrow spouse exception: you may witness a will that leaves a gift to your own spouse, and that fact goes only to your credibility, not to the gift's validity (O.C.G.A. § 53-4-23(b)). The safe practice is simpler than the exceptions — use two witnesses who take nothing under the will, and no gift is ever at risk.

The self-proving affidavit, and where a Georgia will is probated

Georgia does not require notarization for a will to be valid, but it does offer a self-proving affidavit: at signing (or any later date during the lifetimes of the testator and witnesses), the testator and both witnesses swear before a notary that the will was properly executed (O.C.G.A. § 53-4-24). A self-proved will can be admitted to probate without tracking down the witnesses to testify — but it can still be contested, revoked, or amended exactly like any other will.

Georgia probates wills in the Probate Court, which has exclusive jurisdiction over the probate of wills (O.C.G.A. § 53-5-1). The petition is filed in the Probate Court of the county where the testator was domiciled — the primary residence — at death. This is the court that decides whether your will was validly executed, which is exactly why the two-witness formality carries so much weight; a self-proving affidavit is what keeps that probate uncontested and quick.

Marriage, a new child, and divorce all rewrite a Georgia will

If you marry, have a child, or adopt a child after signing a will that made no provision in contemplation of that event, Georgia does not throw the whole will out — but the new spouse or child takes the share they would have received had you died with no will at all, paid from the residue of the estate (O.C.G.A. § 53-4-48). A gift to a class of "my children" is presumed to include later-born or later-adopted members, so naming your existing kids does not by itself defeat the protection.

Divorce cuts the other way. Every provision of a will made before your final divorce or annulment, where no provision was made in contemplation of it, takes effect as if your former spouse had predeceased you (O.C.G.A. § 53-4-49) — the ex is written out by operation of law. If you later remarry that same person and never revoked the will, those provisions revive. The safe move is the same in every case: revisit the will after any marriage, divorce, birth, or adoption. And remember a will can be revoked outright at any time before death (O.C.G.A. § 53-4-40), including by destroying it with intent to revoke (O.C.G.A. § 53-4-44).

Common questions about Georgia wills

Sources

• O.C.G.A. § 53-4-10 — Minimum age (14) to make a will
• O.C.G.A. § 53-4-11 — Testamentary capacity
• O.C.G.A. § 53-4-20 — Required writing; signing; two witnesses
• O.C.G.A. § 53-4-23 — Interested (beneficiary) witness
• O.C.G.A. § 53-4-24 — Self-proved will or codicil
• O.C.G.A. § 53-4-40 — Right to revoke a will
• O.C.G.A. § 53-4-44 — Revocation by physical act
• O.C.G.A. § 53-4-48 — Child born or spouse after execution
• O.C.G.A. § 53-4-49 — Effect of divorce or annulment
• O.C.G.A. § 53-3-1 — Year's Support for spouse and minor children
• O.C.G.A. § 53-5-1 — Probate Court jurisdiction and venue
• GeorgiaLegalAid — What should I know about making a will?
• Georgia.gov — Write a Will
• Georgia Courts — Council of Probate Court Judges

Who Can Make a Will in Georgia?

You must be at least 14 years old to make a will in Georgia. Georgia has one of the lowest minimum ages to make a will in the nation (O.C.G.A. § 53-4-10). The testator must have sufficient intellect to enable them to have a decided and rational desire as to the disposition of property and to understand the nature of the testamentary act

Signing Requirements

Must be in writing. Can be typed, printed, or handwritten. If you are physically unable to sign, Another person may sign in the testator's presence and by the testator's express direction (O.C.G.A. § 53-4-20).

Witness Requirements in Georgia

Georgia requires 2 witnesses. Must be competent witnesses. The testator must sign or acknowledge the will in the presence of the witnesses, and the witnesses must sign in the presence of the testator (O.C.G.A. § 53-4-20).

Interested witnesses: An interested witness does not invalidate the will (O.C.G.A. § 53-4-23)

Notarization in Georgia

Notarization is not required for a will to be valid in Georgia. Not required for validity; used for self-proving affidavit

Self-Proving Affidavit

Georgia allows a self-proving affidavit, which simplifies probate by eliminating the need for witnesses to testify in court. Testator and witnesses sign a sworn affidavit before a notary public (O.C.G.A. § 53-4-24)

Handwritten (Holographic) Wills

Georgia does not recognize holographic wills. Holographic wills are not recognized in Georgia

Electronic Wills

Georgia recognizes electronic wills. Georgia enacted electronic will provisions effective July 1, 2022. Electronic wills must be created, signed, and witnessed electronically and stored by a qualified custodian

Oral (Nuncupative) Wills

Recognized in limited circumstances: must be made during last illness, in the testator's dwelling or where they resided for 10+ days (except sudden illness), before two competent witnesses, and limited to $100 unless reduced to writing within 30 days (O.C.G.A. § 53-4-27)

How to Revoke a Will in Georgia

In Georgia, a will can be revoked by:

• •Executing a subsequent will or codicil
• •Physical destruction by the testator or at the testator's direction
• •Any writing executed with the same formalities as a will

O.C.G.A. § 53-4-40

Special Provisions in Georgia

Georgia is a separate property/common law state. Georgia has NO elective share statute — a surviving spouse can be disinherited. However, a surviving spouse can petition for a year's support from the estate (O.C.G.A. § 53-3-1). Georgia's minimum age of 14 is the lowest in the nation. Georgia is one of the few states without elective share protections

Relevant Georgia Statutes

• O.C.G.A. § 53-4-10 (Who may make a will)
• O.C.G.A. § 53-4-20 (Execution of wills)
• O.C.G.A. § 53-4-23 (Interested witnesses)
• O.C.G.A. § 53-4-24 (Self-proved wills)
• O.C.G.A. § 53-4-27 (Nuncupative wills)
• O.C.G.A. § 53-4-40 (Revocation)
• O.C.G.A. § 53-3-1 (Year's support)