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A valid Alabama will needs your signature and two witnesses — who don’t have to be in the room together. No notary is required, handwritten wills without witnesses are invalid, and Alabama has not authorized electronic wills. The intestacy rule is where it bites: with a child from outside the marriage, your spouse’s $50,000 setaside disappears entirely. Online services prepare an Alabama-specific will for $199–$299. Every rule below cites the Alabama Probate Code.
Alabama gives your family fewer probate shortcuts than most states — the will matters more here.
No transfer-on-death deeds, no Lady Bird deeds, no tenancy by the entirety. What you write down does the work. An online service like Trust & Will prepares an Alabama-specific will with the witness pages ready to sign.
Disclosure: we earn a commission if you buy through the Trust & Will links here, at no extra cost to you. Complex situations belong with an attorney and we say so below.
Alabama Will Requirements (2026)
Ala. Code § 43-8-131 sets the execution rules:
| Requirement | Alabama rule | Statute |
|---|---|---|
| In writing | A written document — Alabama has no electronic-wills act | § 43-8-131 |
| Signed | By you, or in your name by another in your presence and at your direction | § 43-8-131 |
| Witnessed | At least two persons, each of whom witnessed either the signing or your acknowledgment of the signature or of the will | § 43-8-131 |
| Together? | Not required. Each witness need only see the signing or hear your acknowledgment, then sign — they need not be present at the same moment | § 43-8-131 |
| Notarized | Not required for validity — the notary appears only in the optional self-proved will | § 43-8-132 |
The self-proved will: worth the extra signatures
Section 43-8-132 supplies Alabama’s self-proved will form — you and both witnesses sign a notarized affidavit, either at execution or later, and the probate court then admits the will without tracking down the witnesses years afterward. It is optional and it is standard practice; every properly prepared Alabama will includes it.
Handwritten Wills Without Witnesses Are Invalid in Alabama
Alabama does not recognize holographic wills. Section 43-8-131 contains no handwriting exception, so the two-witness requirement applies to every will however it was written. A signed page in a drawer — valid just across the line in Mississippi and in Tennessee — is not a will in Alabama. Handwriting is fine; skipping the witnesses is not.
Electronic Wills: Not Recognized in Alabama
Alabama has not adopted the Uniform Electronic Wills Act or any equivalent — Title 43, Chapter 8 contains no electronic-will provisions, and § 43-8-131 requires a signed writing witnessed by two people. Your Alabama will must exist on paper: not an audio file, not a video, not a document that lives only on a screen. An online will service is legal here the ordinary way — it prepares the document, and you print and execute it.
Dying Without a Will in Alabama
Alabama’s intestacy statute (§ 43-8-41) runs on setasides that vanish in blended families:
| Your situation | What your spouse receives |
|---|---|
| No surviving issue and no surviving parent | The entire estate |
| No children — but a parent of yours survives | First $100,000 + one-half of the balance; your parents take the rest |
| Children, all of whom are also your spouse’s | First $50,000 + one-half of the balance |
| Any child who is not your spouse’s | One-half only — no $50,000 setaside at all |
Two rows deserve a second look. Even in a first marriage where every child is shared, your spouse does not inherit everything — the children take half of whatever exceeds $50,000. And a young married Alabamian who dies childless while a parent is living leaves that parent half of everything above $100,000; the surviving spouse co-inherits with the in-laws. (Where the estate spans two or more states, the statute caps the spouse’s aggregate share.)
Alabama also has an heirs’ property problem tied directly to intestacy. When family land passes without wills across generations, title splinters among dozens of co-heirs until nobody can sell, mortgage, or improve it — and any single heir can force a sale of the whole parcel. The losses have fallen hardest on Black families in the Black Belt. A will naming who receives the land is the front-line fix.
What a Will Costs in Alabama
| Route | Typical cost | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Handwritten, no witnesses | $0 | Invalid in Alabama |
| Online service | $199 individual / $299 couple | Alabama-specific will with witness pages and self-proved affidavit, done in about an hour |
| Alabama attorney | Flat fees vary — Birmingham and Huntsville run above rural Alabama | Custom drafting and counsel, including family land and heirs’ property |
Online pricing verified against Trust & Will’s published rates (August 2026). Alabama’s bar publishes no fee survey, so we quote no attorney figures we can’t source. See how Alabama compares with the rest of the country for national cost ranges and a state-by-state table of will requirements.
What an Alabama Will Does Not Do
1. A will does not avoid probate — and Alabama gives you unusually few alternatives. There are no transfer-on-death deeds for real estate, no Lady Bird deeds, and no tenancy by the entirety. That shortage is exactly why trusts do more work in Alabama than in states with a deed-based shortcut: see what a living trust costs in Alabama.
2. A will does not cover incapacity. It operates only at death. Pair it with a durable power of attorney and advance directive — see the five documents every family needs.
3. A will does not override beneficiary designations. Life insurance, retirement accounts, and payable-on-death accounts pass to the named beneficiary no matter what the will says.
Will vs. Trust for Alabama Families
Every Alabama adult needs a will — the disappearing setaside and the heirs’ property risk both make the case. And Alabama is one of the states where the trust conversation is genuinely practical rather than optional: with no TOD deed, no Lady Bird deed, and no tenancy by the entirety, a trust is the main tool for keeping a home or family land out of probate. Start with Trust vs. Will: Which Does Your Family Need? and the numbers in our Alabama living trust cost guide.
If the will is what you need today, Trust & Will’s Alabama package includes the witness pages, guardianship nominations, and healthcare documents — build your Alabama will here.
FAQ
Does a will have to be notarized in Alabama?
No. Validity takes your signature and two witnesses (§ 43-8-131). The notary appears only in the optional self-proved will affidavit, which lets the court admit the will without witness testimony (§ 43-8-132).
Do both witnesses have to be present at the same time?
No. Each witness need only observe your signing or hear you acknowledge the signature or the will, then sign — Alabama does not require a single simultaneous ceremony.
Are handwritten wills legal in Alabama?
Only with witnesses. Alabama recognizes no unwitnessed holographic wills — a handwritten will needs the same two witnesses as a typed one.
Can I make an electronic will in Alabama?
No. Alabama has not adopted the Uniform Electronic Wills Act, and Title 43 requires a signed physical writing. Online services are legal because you print and sign the finished document.
What happens if I die without a will in Alabama?
With shared children, your spouse takes $50,000 plus half the balance. With any child from outside the marriage, your spouse takes half and the setaside disappears. Dying childless with a surviving parent gives your spouse $100,000 plus half, with your parents taking the rest (§ 43-8-41).
Does a will avoid probate in Alabama?
No — and Alabama offers no transfer-on-death deed, Lady Bird deed, or tenancy by the entirety. Living trusts, beneficiary designations, and joint titling are the tools that pass property outside probate.
Alabama Law Cited on This Page
- Ala. Code § 43-8-131 — execution and signature of will; witnesses
- Ala. Code § 43-8-132 — self-proved will
- Ala. Code § 43-8-41 — share of the spouse
Update log — August 2026: page created; execution and intestacy rules verified against the Code of Alabama. Reviewed when Alabama law changes.