Alabama will requirements.
Document generation isn’t currently available in Alabama while we review its rules for online legal document services. The signing requirements below still apply.
Is a self-written will legal in Alabama?
Yes. Alabama recognizes wills you write yourself, as long as they meet the state's signing requirements. The governing statute is Ala. Code §43-8-130 et seq.
Your will needs to be in writing, signed by you, and witnessed by 2 adults. You don't need a notary for the will itself to be valid, but adding a notarized "self-proving" affidavit makes the probate process faster later.
You must be at least 18 years old and of sound mind. Choose witnesses who don't inherit under your will: some states void or reduce a gift to a witness, and the exact Alabama rule is covered below.
What it costs to make a will in Alabama
An Alabama estate-planning attorney typically charges $300 to $600 for a simple will, and $1,000 to $1,500 for a will-plus-revocable-trust package. Rates run higher in dense metros and lower in rural areas. Most attorneys bill at $250 to $400 per hour and need one or two meetings to draft a basic will.
You can also write a will entirely from scratch with a sheet of paper and a pen, with no software at all. Alabama requires the same 2-witness signing process regardless of who drafts the document. The risk with a from-scratch will is technical: a missing self-proving affidavit, a witness who's also a beneficiary, or wording that creates ambiguity for the probate court.
Requirements at a glance
When you might want an attorney instead
A will says who inherits your property, who serves as your executor, and who you name to care for your minor children.
Situations in which people commonly hire an attorney:
- Your estate is large enough to trigger federal estate tax (over $15 million in 2026) or Alabama estate or inheritance tax.
- You own a business, complex investments, or assets in multiple states or countries.
- You're in a blended family, especially if you want to leave assets to a current spouse while protecting children from a prior relationship.
- You have a child or beneficiary with special needs and want a supplemental-needs trust that won't disqualify them from public benefits.
- You expect someone to contest the will, or you're disinheriting a close family member.
- You have substantial retirement accounts and want sophisticated beneficiary planning.
Self-proving affidavit in Alabama
Alabama recognizes self-proving affidavits. The affidavit is attached to the will: a short statement your witnesses sign in front of a notary, swearing to what they saw when you signed. See Ala. Code §43-8-132(b).
A self-proven will skips the requirement to track down witnesses years later for the probate court. It's optional, but adding the affidavit at signing time saves your executor work.
Who can witness your will in Alabama
Ala. Code §43-8-134: any person generally competent to be a witness may act as a witness to a will, and a will or any provision of it is not invalid because the will is signed by an interested witness. Alabama follows the UPC rule and has no purge statute, so a gift to an attesting witness remains effective. Using witnesses who take nothing under the will is still the safer practice.
Family changes after you sign
A child born or adopted after the will. A child who arrives after you sign, and who isn't named or accounted for in the will, is covered by Alabama law rather than by your wishes. The safest practice is to update your will when your family changes.
Ala. Code §43-8-91: a child born or adopted after the will was executed, and not provided for in the will, receives a share equal in value to what the child would have received had the testator died intestate. Three exceptions defeat that share: it appears from the will that the omission was intentional (§43-8-91(a)(1)); the testator had one or more children when the will was executed and devised substantially all the estate to the other parent of the omitted child (§43-8-91(a)(2)); or the testator provided for the child by a transfer outside the will and the intent that the transfer be in lieu of a testamentary provision is reasonably proven (§43-8-91(a)(3)). The second exception turns on the testator having children when the will was executed, and Alabama does not additionally require that other parent to survive the testator or to take under the will. A living child left out solely because the testator believed the child to be dead receives the same intestate-equivalent share, and subsection (b) attaches none of the three exceptions to it (§43-8-91(b)). In satisfying either share the devises made by the will abate as provided in §43-8-76 (§43-8-91(c)).
A spouse you married after signing. Updating the will after marriage avoids relying on whatever Alabama law provides by default.
Ala. Code §43-8-90: a surviving spouse who married the testator after the will was executed, and for whom the will fails to provide, receives the same share of the estate the spouse would have received if the decedent had left no will. Alabama does not narrow the base of that share, so it makes no carve-out for property devised to a child of the testator born before the marriage. Two exceptions defeat the claim: it appears from the will that the omission was intentional, or the testator provided for the spouse by a transfer outside the will and the intent that the transfer be in lieu of a testamentary provision is reasonably proven. An intention shown only by evidence outside the will does not bar the claim, and a transfer outside the will does not bar it without that proof of substitutionary intent. In satisfying the share the devises made by the will abate as provided in §43-8-76 (§43-8-90(b)).
Document generation isn’t currently available in Alabama.