How many witnesses does a will need in Delaware?

A will in Delaware must be signed in front of two witnesses. The witnesses do not need to be present together when they sign, but each must witness the testator's signature or acknowledgment. See 12 Del. C. § 201 et seq. (execution requirements at 12 Del. C. § 202).

Does a will have to be notarized in Delaware?

No. Notarization is not required for a Delaware will to be valid, but adding a self-proving affidavit (which is notarized) lets the will be admitted to probate without calling the witnesses to testify.

Is a handwritten will valid in Delaware?

No. Delaware does not recognize holographic wills. Every will must be signed in front of witnesses to be valid.

What is the minimum age to make a will in Delaware?

You must be at least 18 years old to make a will in Delaware.

Can I sign my will online in Delaware?

No. Delaware does not currently recognize electronic wills. A will must be signed and witnessed in person on paper to be valid; remote online notarization is allowed for other documents like trusts and powers of attorney.

What documents make up a complete estate plan in Delaware?

A complete estate plan in Delaware usually includes four documents: a Last Will and Testament, a Revocable Living Trust, a Durable Power of Attorney, and a Healthcare Directive. Will.com generates all four together based on your answers.

Estate plan requirements

Delaware

Everything your estate plan needs to be valid in Delaware: execution requirements, the documents we generate, statutory citations, and the exact wording our generators insert.

Requirements at a glance

Document	Witnesses	Notary
Will	2 required	Recommended
Living trust	1 required	Recommended
Power of attorney	1 required	Required
Healthcare directive	1 required	Not required

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Delaware content last reviewed May 18, 2026.

Will

12 Del. C. § 201 et seq. (execution requirements at 12 Del. C. § 202)

Witnesses: 2 required

At least two credible witnesses must sign in the presence of the testator (12 Del. C. § 202(a)(2) requires '2 or more credible witnesses')

Notarization: Recommended

Not legally required, but recommended for self-proving affidavit

Holographic will: Not valid

Delaware does not recognize handwritten wills without witnesses

Self-proving affidavit: Available

Allows the will to be admitted to probate without witness testimony

ViewWitness disqualification / interested-witness rule

12 Del. C. §§ 202(a)(2), 203: a will must be signed by 2 or more credible witnesses. § 203(b) provides that a will or any provision thereof is not invalid because the will is signed by an interested person, so Delaware has no execution-blocking witness disqualifications and beneficial provisions to attesting witnesses are preserved.

Living Trust

Witnesses: 1 required

A trust provision under which someone other than the trustor acquires or is divested of an interest whose enjoyment is contingent on surviving the trustor is void unless it is in a writing executed by the trustor and witnessed in writing in the trustor's presence by at least 1 disinterested person or 2 credible persons, or in a writing executed by a trustee who is a disinterested person (12 Del. C. § 3545(a)). A disinterested person is one with no beneficial interest in the trust that the change would materially increase or decrease. A notary public or similar official may serve as the witness, whether signing as a witness or solely in a notarial capacity.

Notarization: Recommended

Not legally required for the trust document, but needed to transfer real property

Conditional execution: Special rule

1 disinterested witness OR 2 credible witnesses

State-specific notes

•Delaware sets the witness rule as '1 disinterested or 2 credible persons,' not notary-plus-witness (12 Del. C. § 3545). Notarization is not required by the trust statute (though strongly recommended for real-property funding and for the §§ 901-908 elective-share spousal-waiver clause if applicable).

•The notary who acknowledges the trustor's signature may also serve as the disinterested or credible witness; the two roles need not be separated.

•Electronic execution changes the medium, not the formalities. Delaware permits a governing instrument or other document described in the trust-witnessing statute, other than a will or codicil, to be executed under the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, but only 'if otherwise validly executed' (12 Del. C. § 3550(a)(1), referring to § 3545 and to Chapter 12A of Title 6). The disinterested-witness or 2-credible-witness requirement still applies, and there is no electronic route for a will or codicil.

•Delaware is a leading asset-protection-trust jurisdiction. The Qualified Dispositions in Trust Act permits a settlor to transfer assets to an irrevocable Delaware trust with a qualified Delaware trustee, retaining limited interests (income, special power of appointment, trustee-removal right), shielding the principal from most creditors subject to statutory limits: a creditor whose claim arose concurrent with or after the qualified disposition must bring an avoidance action within 4 years of the disposition and must prove actual intent to defraud, while a creditor whose claim pre-dated the disposition gets the Title 6 fraudulent-transfer limitations period. The creditor bears a clear-and-convincing burden and the Court of Chancery has exclusive jurisdiction. A creditor's rights against a qualified disposition are limited to those the statute provides (12 Del. C. §§ 3570-3576; the operative sections are §§ 3572, 3573 and 3574). This Delaware-specific regime is distinct from a standard revocable living trust.

•The asset-protection limits do not reach every creditor. A spouse, former spouse or child owed support or alimony under an agreement or court order, a spouse or former spouse owed a division of property incident to a separation or divorce, and a person whose death, personal injury or property damage was caused by the transferor on or before the disposition are all outside the protection, each to the extent of that debt or claim (12 Del. C. § 3573(a)). The support and property-division carve-out does not itself extend to a claim for forced heirship, legitime or elective share (12 Del. C. § 3573(b)). The protection applies against the transferor's own spouse only where the spouse gave written consent before the disposition, after being given the trust instrument, a list and reasonable valuation of the property, a copy of the Act, and the capital-letters warning the statute prescribes, signed by the spouse and witnessed by someone unrelated to the transferor (12 Del. C. § 3573(c)).

Durable Power of Attorney

Witnesses: 1 required

Delaware requires 1 witness for power of attorney execution

Notarization: Required

Notarization is required for a valid durable power of attorney

State-specific notes

•Requires one adult witness AND a notary. Del. Code tit. 12, § 49A-105(a)

•Durability is NOT presumed in Delaware. The instrument must contain affirmative durability language (e.g., 'This power of attorney shall not be affected by my subsequent disability or incapacity') or similar 'magic words' showing the principal's intent that authority continue despite incapacity; without those words the POA terminates on incapacity (12 Del. C. § 49A-104).

•The statutory notice to the principal is optional (12 Del. C. § 49A-105(b)). If omitted, the agent bears the burden on challenge of demonstrating the POA's validity; omission does not void the POA. The agent's certification is a separate document the agent executes when first acting under the POA (12 Del. C. § 49A-105(c)).

ViewWarning notice for the principal

As the person signing this durable power of attorney you are the Principal. The purpose of this power of attorney is to give the person you designate (your "Agent") broad powers to handle your property, which may include powers to sell, dispose of, or encumber any real or personal property without advance notice to you or approval by you. This power of attorney does not authorize your Agent to make health-care decisions for you. Unless you specify otherwise, your Agent's authority will continue even if you become incapacitated, or until you die or revoke the power of attorney, or until your Agent resigns or is unable to act for you. You should select someone you trust to serve as your Agent. This power of attorney does not impose a duty on your Agent to exercise granted powers, but when powers are exercised, your Agent must use due care to act for your benefit and in accordance with this power of attorney. Your Agent must keep your funds and other property separate from your Agent's funds and other property. A court can take away the powers of your Agent if it finds your Agent is not acting properly. The powers and duties of an Agent under a durable power of attorney are explained more fully in 12 Del. C. §§ 49A-114 and 49A-201 through 49A-217. If there is anything about this form that you do not understand, you should ask a lawyer of your own choosing to explain it to you. I have read or had explained to me this notice and I understand its contents.

ViewWitness disqualification recital

I am not related to the principal by blood, marriage, or adoption; nor am I entitled to any portion of the estate of the principal under the principal's then existing will or codicil or amendment thereto or trust instrument (12 Del. C. § 49A-105(a)(5)).

Advance Health-Care Directive

16 Del. C. §§ 2501-2530 (Uniform Health-Care Decisions Act 2023; 84 Del. Laws c. 467, eff. 2025-09-30); execution requirements at 16 Del. C. § 2508, optional statutory form at 16 Del. C. § 2511

Last verified: 2025-09-30

Witnesses: 1 required

Delaware requires 1 witness

Notarization: Not required

Notarization is not required but may be accepted

State-specific notes

•Chapter 25 was comprehensively replaced by SB 309 / 84 Del. Laws c. 467 (Uniform Health-Care Decisions Act 2023), effective September 30, 2025. Section pin-cites prior to this date no longer track operative law.

•The health-care power of attorney must be in a record, signed by the principal, and signed by 1 adult witness who reasonably believes the principal's act is voluntary and knowing; is not the agent, or the agent's spouse, domestic partner, or cohabitant; is not, where the principal resides or is receiving care in a nursing home or long-term care facility, an owner, operator, employee, or contractor of that facility; and is present when the principal signs or when the principal represents that the directive reflects the principal's wishes (16 Del. C. § 2508(d)). The facility bar has no relation-based exception; the family-member exception governs who may serve as agent, not who may witness (16 Del. C. § 2508(b)(2)).

•An advance mental-health-care directive with a non-revocation direction requires 2 adult witnesses (16 Del. C. § 2509(e)).

•A witness is present if physically in the same location as the principal, connected by real-time audio and visual transmission, or connected by real-time audio alone where the principal's identity is personally known to the witness or the witness can authenticate it from the principal's answers (16 Del. C. § 2508(e)). An advance mental-health-care directive containing a non-revocation direction is the exception: its 2 witnesses must be physically present in the same location (16 Del. C. § 2509(e)(6)).

•The statutory advance-directive form is set out by statute (16 Del. C. § 2511).

ViewWitness disqualification recital

16 Del. C. § 2508(d) (UHCDA 2023, eff. 2025-09-30): the witness must reasonably believe the principal's act is voluntary and knowing; must not be the agent, or the agent's spouse, domestic partner, or cohabitant; must not, where the principal resides or is receiving care in a nursing home or long-term care facility, be an owner, operator, employee, or contractor of that facility; and must be present when the principal signs or when the principal represents that the directive reflects the principal's wishes (§ 2508(d)(5)). Delaware attaches no relation-based exception to the facility bar. Presence is satisfied by physical presence, by real-time audio and visual transmission, or by real-time audio alone where the principal's identity is personally known to the witness or the witness can authenticate it from the principal's answers (§ 2508(e)).

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6 more documents with a subscription

$29/year unlocks the documents below alongside the four free ones above. Your answers and documents are saved privately to your account, encrypted in your browser, so you can revise them any time life changes.

Declaration of Disposition of Final Remains

Names the agent who controls funeral, burial, or cremation decisions, with optional preferences.

In this state: Delaware recognizes a statutory Declaration of Disposition of Final Remains; we follow that form. (12 Del. C. §§ 260-270)

HIPAA Authorization

Stand-alone PHI release that survives death for the period you specify, separate from the in-life authorization in your healthcare directive.

Nomination of Conservator

Pre-nominates the person you want a court to appoint if a conservator (or guardian of the estate) is ever needed.

Business Succession Declaration

Identifies your interests in any closely-held businesses and how they should be transferred or wound down.

Real-Estate Retitling Checklist

Step-by-step instructions for transferring real-property deeds into your trust so the trust actually controls those assets.

Letter of Instruction

Non-binding personal note to your executor and family: where to find documents, account access, funeral wishes, and other practical guidance.

Free vs. paid

	Free	Paid
All 4 state-specific documents	Included in free	Included in paid tier
State-specific signing guide	Included in free	Included in paid tier
Download as PDF, print forever	Included in free	Included in paid tier
Secure online storage	Not in free	Included in paid tier
Covers real estate, business, digital, and funeral wishes	Not in free	Included in paid tier
Disposition of remains authorization	Not in free	Included in paid tier
Standalone HIPAA authorization	Not in free	Included in paid tier
Nomination of conservator	Not in free	Included in paid tier
Business succession declaration	Not in free	Included in paid tier
Real-estate retitling checklist	Not in free	Included in paid tier
Special needs trust provisions	Not in free	Included in paid tier
Letter of instruction, pre-filled and editable	Not in free	Included in paid tier
Edit anytime	Not in free	Included in paid tier
Annual review reminder	Not in free	Included in paid tier

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Electronic will status

Delaware has not adopted electronic will legislation. A traditional paper will with physical signatures is required.

Digital assets access

Delaware has not adopted RUFADAA. Executor access to digital accounts may be limited by each provider’s terms of service. Consult a local attorney for guidance on digital asset planning.

Remote online notarization (RON)

Delaware authorized RON in 2023.

Will

Not allowed

Trust

Allowed

POA

Allowed

Remote online witnessing (ROW)

Delaware allows remote online witnessing for some estate planning documents. Witnesses can observe your signing over a live video call instead of being physically present. 16 Del. C. § 2508(e) (UHCDA 2023, eff. 2025-09-30) permits witnessing of the advance directive by real-time audio-visual transmission. ROW for wills, trusts, and POAs is not authorized.

Will

Not allowed

Trust

Not allowed

POA

Not allowed

HC Directive

Allowed

This information is general in nature and not legal advice. Laws change. Consult a licensed estate planning attorney in Delaware for guidance specific to your situation.

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