How to Make a Valid Will in Indiana

Indiana in depth

Indiana is strict about how a will is signed — no handwritten wills, and both witnesses must sign in front of you and in front of each other — but it modernized early on the electronic side, recognizing electronic wills since 2018. What trips people up most is not the signing, though. It's a quiet inheritance rule aimed at second marriages that can hand a childless surviving spouse far less than they expect.

The statute facts above give you the rules. This section covers where Indiana wills actually go wrong, and the protections built into Indiana law — including one that surprises almost every remarried couple — that you cannot draft around.

Five ways an Indiana will gets thrown out

Most Indiana wills that fail, fail on how they were signed — not on what they say. And because Indiana requires strict compliance with its execution statute, a defect is usually fatal. These are the recurring ones.

1. 1

   Assuming a handwritten note counts as a will

   Indiana does not recognize handwritten (holographic) wills at all — there is no exception, and two witnesses are always required (IC 29-1-5-3). A heartfelt letter in your own hand, however clear and however clearly signed, is not a valid will in Indiana. The only route for almost everyone is a written will signed before two witnesses.

2. 2

   Witnesses who don't sign in front of each other

   Indiana asks for more than a signature from two people. You must signify to them that the document is your will, and both witnesses must sign in the presence of the testator and in the presence of each other (IC 29-1-5-3). Collecting the two signatures separately — one witness today, the other next week — can invalidate the will. Get the testator and both witnesses in one room at one time.

3. 3

   Using a beneficiary as one of your witnesses

   A gift to someone who also served as a witness can be purged — void as to that witness — where the will can't be proved without them (IC 29-1-5-2). The will itself survives; the witness's inheritance may not, and even then they take only the lesser of their intestate share or the devise. Keep your witnesses neutral parties who inherit nothing, and the problem never arises.

4. 4

   Relying on a notary instead of two witnesses

   Notarization does not make an Indiana will valid — two witnesses do (IC 29-1-5-3). A notary matters only for the optional self-proving clause, which speeds probate but adds nothing to the will's underlying validity (IC 29-1-5-3.1). And because Indiana requires strict compliance with the execution statute — it has not adopted a harmless-error rule — a court cannot rescue a will signed with only one witness by finding you "intended" it. Get the two witnesses; the notary is optional.

5. 5

   Signing an electronic will without an attorney

   Indiana does recognize electronic wills (IC 29-1-21). But an electronic will executed without attorney supervision is voidable at the court's discretion — meaning a judge can refuse to admit it. If you go the electronic route, do it under an attorney's supervision. For most people, a wet-ink will signed before two witnesses is still the safer path.

Indiana's spouse protection — and the childless-second-spouse trap

Indiana is not a community-property state; it protects a surviving spouse through an elective share. A spouse who is left too little can elect to take against the will and claim one-half of the net personal and real estate (IC 29-1-3-1). You cannot write around this by leaving the spouse out — if part of your plan depends on leaving a spouse less than that share, build the elective share into the plan rather than ignoring it.

But Indiana carves out a distinctive and much smaller share for one situation, and it catches remarried couples off guard. Where the decedent left children from a prior relationship and the surviving spouse is a childless second (or subsequent) spouse, that spouse's elective share drops to one-third of the net personal estate plus only 25% of the fair market value of the real property, less any liens (IC 29-1-3-1). The same 25%-of-real-property cap appears in Indiana's intestacy rules for a childless second spouse in that situation (IC 29-1-2-1). If you are remarried with children from an earlier relationship, this is the single most important Indiana rule to plan around.

The child you forgot, and the ex-spouse you didn't remove

A child born or adopted after you sign your will, and left unprovided for, takes the share they would have received had you died without a will — unless the omission was intentional (IC 29-1-3-8). Indiana has no separate pretermitted-spouse statute: a spouse you marry after signing the will is protected instead through the elective share, not a stand-alone omitted-spouse claim.

Divorce cuts the other way, and it happens automatically. A dissolution of your marriage after you sign revokes the gifts your will made to your former spouse (IC 29-1-5-8) — the ex is written out by operation of law. None of this is a substitute for redrafting: the safe move is to revisit the will after any marriage, divorce, or new child.

No handwritten wills — and only a razor-thin oral exception

Indiana requires every ordinary will to be in writing and signed before two witnesses (IC 29-1-5-3). It flatly does not recognize handwritten (holographic) wills, with no carve-out — unlike California, Texas, or North Carolina, a will written entirely in your own hand but unwitnessed has no legal effect in Indiana.

There is one narrow exception, and it is a genuine deathbed rule. A nuncupative (oral) will is valid only if you were in imminent peril of death and actually died from it, declared it before two disinterested witnesses, had it reduced to writing within 30 days, and had it offered for probate within six months (IC 29-1-5-4). Even then it can pass personal property only, capped at $1,000 — raised to $10,000 for a member of the armed forces in wartime. It is an emergency last resort, not a will-drafting shortcut. Note too that Indiana lets someone under 18 make a will only if they are in the armed forces or merchant marine (IC 29-1-5-1); everyone else must be at least 18 and of sound mind.

The beneficiary-witness trap: the will stands, the gift is purged

Using someone who inherits under the will as one of your witnesses is a classic Indiana mistake, but it works differently than people fear. It does not void the will. Instead, the gift to that attesting witness is purged — void only as to that witness, and only where the will cannot be proved without their testimony (IC 29-1-5-2). Even then, the witness is not simply cut out: they still take the lesser of their intestate share or the devise.

One point of relief: serving as your will's executor, trustee, or counsel does not make a witness "interested" for this purpose (IC 29-1-5-2). Naming your lawyer as executor and having them witness the will is fine. The clean fix is still simpler than the exceptions — use two witnesses who take nothing under the will, and no gift is ever at risk.

Strict compliance, the self-proving affidavit, and electronic wills

Indiana requires strict compliance with its execution statute. Some states let a judge admit a will that was signed incorrectly if the intent is clear by clear and convincing evidence; Indiana has not adopted that harmless-error rule, so a defective will cannot be saved on proof of intent (IC 29-1-5-3). The formalities — a writing, your signature (or a proxy's at your direction and in your presence), and two witnesses who sign in your presence and each other's — are the whole ballgame.

You make probate far smoother by having the will self-proved. Indiana allows a self-proving clause, sworn before a notary, either at the time of execution or added later (IC 29-1-5-3.1); it lets the will be admitted without tracking down the witnesses to testify. Notarization is never required for the will to be valid — its only job is to make the will self-proving. Indiana has also recognized electronic wills since 2018 (IC 29-1-21), and remote witnessing by real-time audiovisual technology is permitted; but an electronic will executed without attorney supervision is voidable at the court's discretion, so supervision matters if you sign electronically.

Where an Indiana will is proved — plus small estates and no death tax

Indiana probates wills in the circuit court — or the superior or probate court — of the county where the decedent was domiciled, meaning their primary residence, at death (IC 29-1-7-1). This is the court that decides whether your will was validly executed, which is exactly why the two-witness formalities carry so much weight.

Not every estate needs full probate. Indiana lets successors collect a modest estate by small-estate affidavit when the estate falls under the statutory threshold — $100,000, raised from $50,000 effective July 1, 2022 (IC 29-1-8-1). And there is no death tax to plan around: Indiana repealed its inheritance tax for deaths after December 31, 2012, and has had no estate tax for deaths after December 31, 2004.

Common questions about Indiana wills

Sources

• IC 29-1-5-1 — Who may make a will
• IC 29-1-5-2 — Interested (attesting) witness
• IC 29-1-5-3 — Execution and attestation of wills
• IC 29-1-5-4 — Nuncupative (oral) wills
• IC 29-1-2-1 — Intestate succession
• IC 29-1-3-1 — Right of election by surviving spouse
• IC 29-1-3-8 — Omitted (after-born or adopted) child
• IC 29-1-8-1 — Small-estate affidavit
• IC 29-1-21 — Electronic wills
• Indiana DOR — Inheritance tax information

Who Can Make a Will in Indiana?

You must be at least 18 years old to make a will in Indiana. No statutory exceptions for minors. The testator must be of sound mind (IC 29-1-5-1)

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 at the testator's express direction.

Witness Requirements in Indiana

Indiana requires 2 witnesses. Must be competent witnesses. The testator must sign or acknowledge the will in the presence of two witnesses who must sign in the testator's presence (IC 29-1-5-3).

Interested witnesses: An interested witness does not invalidate the will (IC 29-1-5-3)

Notarization in Indiana

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

Self-Proving Affidavit

Indiana 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 (IC 29-1-5-3.1)

Handwritten (Holographic) Wills

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

Electronic Wills

Indiana recognizes electronic wills. Indiana enacted electronic will provisions (IC 29-1-21). Electronic wills must be in an electronic record, electronically signed by the testator, and witnessed

Oral (Nuncupative) Wills

Recognized in limited circumstances: must be made in imminent peril of death, declared to be the will in the presence of two disinterested witnesses. Only for personal property up to $1,000 in value. Must be reduced to writing within 30 days (IC 29-1-5-4)

How to Revoke a Will in Indiana

In Indiana, a will can be revoked by:

• •Executing a subsequent will or codicil
• •Physical destruction (burning, tearing, canceling, obliterating) by the testator or at the testator's direction and in the testator's presence

IC 29-1-5-6

Special Provisions in Indiana

Indiana is a separate property/common law state. Surviving spouse has an elective share: one-half of the decedent's net estate if no surviving descendants of the decedent who are not also descendants of the spouse; otherwise varies (IC 29-1-3-1). Indiana has no state estate tax

Relevant Indiana Statutes

• IC 29-1-5-1 (Who may make a will)
• IC 29-1-5-3 (Execution of wills)
• IC 29-1-5-3.1 (Self-proved wills)
• IC 29-1-5-4 (Nuncupative wills)
• IC 29-1-5-6 (Revocation)
• IC 29-1-21 (Electronic wills)
• IC 29-1-3-1 (Elective share)