How to Make a Will in Maryland

A Maryland will does not need a lawyer, a notary, or a court filing to be legally valid. It needs a few specific things done in the right order, and most of them happen at one table in about ten minutes.

The short answer

To make a will in Maryland, a person must be at least 18 and legally competent. The will must be in writing, signed by the person making it (the testator), and signed by two or more credible witnesses who watch in the testator's presence, under Maryland Code, Estates and Trusts §4-102. Maryland does not require a notary for a traditional paper will signed with witnesses in the room. Notarization only comes into play for the optional electronic and remotely witnessed wills the statute also allows.

Who can make a will in Maryland?

Under §4-102(a), "any person may make a will if the person is 18 years of age or older, and legally competent to make a will." Legally competent generally means the person understands what they own, who their family is, and that they are signing a document that decides who receives their property after death.

A will in Maryland can do several things at once. The statute's definition, in §4-101, covers a document that names a personal representative (the person who settles the estate, often called an executor elsewhere), names a guardian, directs who receives property, or revokes an earlier will.

What does Maryland require for a will to be valid?

Section 4-102(b) sets three requirements for a standard will:

1. In writing. Typed or handwritten both count. The Maryland Register of Wills describes a will as "in writing (typed or handwritten)."
2. Signed by the testator. Another person may sign for the testator, but only in the testator's physical presence and at the testator's express direction.
3. Attested and signed by two or more credible witnesses in the physical presence of the testator. Attested means the witnesses watch the signing and then sign to confirm it.

The Register of Wills adds that the testator and both witnesses must be at least 18 and legally competent.

What you need to make a Maryland will

• Be 18 or older and of sound mind
• A written will (typed or handwritten) that says who receives your property
• A named personal representative, plus a backup
• A guardian choice, if you have minor children
• Two adult, competent witnesses, commonly people who inherit nothing under the will
• Everyone together at the signing: you sign, then both witnesses sign while you are present
• A safe place for the original, such as the Register of Wills in your county

Does a will need to be notarized in Maryland?

No, not for a paper will signed with witnesses physically present. Section 4-102 lists writing, the testator's signature, and two witnesses. It does not list a notary.

A notary appears in the statute only for electronic and remotely witnessed wills. Under §4-102(c) and (d), those wills require a "certified will," a paper version of every page with all signatures, backed either by a supervising attorney's certification or by the testator's certification acknowledged before a notary public.

Can you witness a Maryland will remotely or sign it electronically?

Yes, but only by following a detailed procedure. Maryland recognizes an electronic will (one with electronic signatures) and a remotely witnessed will (where witnesses watch by live audio and video instead of in the room). Under §4-102(c) and (d):

• At signing, the testator must be a resident of Maryland or physically located in Maryland.
• A witness who is not in the room must be a resident of the United States and physically located in the United States.
• Everyone must sign the same will or a counterpart of it.
• A certified paper will must be created afterward. Once it exists, the statute says it "shall be deemed to be the original will of the testator for all purposes."

Most people making a simple will sign on paper with two witnesses physically present, which avoids the extra certification steps.

Are handwritten wills valid in Maryland?

A handwritten will signed with two witnesses is valid like any other will, because the writing requirement covers handwriting. A holographic will, meaning one entirely in the testator's handwriting with no witnesses, is much narrower. Under §4-103, it is valid only if the testator is serving in the United States armed services and signs it outside the United States, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories. It becomes void one year after the testator's discharge, unless the testator dies within that year or lacks capacity at that point.

For everyone else, an unwitnessed handwritten note is not a valid Maryland will.

Can a beneficiary witness a Maryland will?

Maryland's will statutes in Title 4 do not contain a rule that voids a gift to a witness who also inherits. The Maryland People's Law Library, run by the Maryland State Law Library, explains that an interested witness may sign without losing the gift, but it recommends disinterested witnesses because a beneficiary witness can invite a claim of undue influence. The statute also asks for "credible" witnesses. Choosing two adults who inherit nothing is the common approach.

What if you sign your will outside Maryland?

Under §4-104, a will signed while the testator is physically outside Maryland is properly executed if it is in writing, signed by the testator, and executed in line with §4-102, the law of the testator's domicile, or the law of the place where the testator signed it.

How do you change or revoke a will in Maryland?

Section 4-105 says a will "may not be revoked in any manner" except in the ways it lists:

• A later will that revokes the earlier one, expressly or by clear implication.
• Physical destruction. Burning, cancelling, tearing, or obliterating the will, by the testator or by another person in the testator's presence at the testator's express direction.
• Marriage followed by a child. A later marriage, followed by the birth, adoption, or legitimation of a child who (or whose descendant) survives the testator, revokes all wills signed before the marriage.
• Divorce or annulment after the will was signed revokes the provisions about the former spouse, and only those, unless the will or decree says otherwise.

A codicil is a written amendment to a will. Maryland's definition of a will in §4-101 includes a codicil, so a codicil must be signed and witnessed with the same formalities. For bigger changes, many people sign a new will instead. Under §4-106, tearing up a newer will does not bring an older one back to life unless the older will still exists and is signed again with full formalities.

Where do you keep a Maryland will?

Under §4-202, a testator may deposit a will for safekeeping with the Register of Wills in the county where they live. The Register of Wills lists a one time fee of $5. The will goes in a sealed envelope marked "Will of" with the testator's name and address. During the testator's life, the register releases it only to the testator or someone the testator authorizes in writing.

After death, the register opens the will and notifies the personal representative named in it. Anyone else holding the original must deliver it, under §4-203, to the Register of Wills in the county where the estate will be administered, which is generally the county where the person lived at death. Probate, the court process that settles an estate, starts there. Our guide to how probate works in Maryland covers what happens next, and whether a trust is needed to skip probate in Maryland covers when a will alone is enough.

Common mistakes that can make a Maryland will fail

• Only one witness. Section 4-102 requires two or more.
• Witnesses who were not present. Standard wills require witnesses to sign in the testator's physical presence. Remote witnessing counts only with the full §4-102 certification process.
• An unwitnessed handwritten will by someone who is not an armed services member signing abroad under §4-103.
• A signer under 18 or without the capacity to understand the will.
• Informal edits. Crossing out a name and writing in a new one is not a witnessed codicil, and obliterating part of a will can count as revoking that part under §4-105.
• Assuming an old will still works after life changes. Marriage followed by a child revokes earlier wills, and divorce removes gifts to the former spouse.

How Inhira fits

The Free Will is a real Maryland will built from attorney reviewed templates. You print it and sign it with two witnesses as §4-102 requires, and it takes about 20 minutes. The Complete Will Plan adds the documents that protect you while you are alive, a financial power of attorney, a healthcare directive, and a HIPAA authorization, plus one notarization session, online where your state allows. The Maryland page shows how each plan works for Maryland residents.