How to Ensure Your Will Is Not Invalid

There's a reason it's called your last will and testament. It's your final message for your family and friends to hear. Burdun Iliya/Shutterstock

Whether it’s the family home or a multimillion-dollar estate, you want to ensure your will correctly designate who inherits what asset. There’s a reason it’s called your last will and testament. It’s your final message for your family and friends to hear.

But what if your will doesn’t correctly say what you want? It could leave the door open for it to be contested or, worse, declared invalid. What makes a will invalid?

Creating a Holographic Will Could Be Invalid

A holographic will is handwritten and doesn’t have any witness signatures. Although some states consider this valid, many states do not. In those states, the handwritten will would be declared invalid.