Arizona families whose deceased relatives took the time to create a valid will before death will have a much easier time navigating the days, weeks and months after losing their loved ones. For this reason, when you take the time to draft a last will and testament, you’re not doing it for yourself — aside from the peace of mind it brings you. In fact, you’re doing it for your family.

Therefore, when you draft and sign your will, you want to make sure that you do it in a lawful and appropriate manner by following the basics on will creation in Arizona:

  • Will creators, a.k.a, testators, must be at least 18 years of age or older.
  • Testators must also be of sound mind, which means that they need to understand the terms of the will and what the document intends to accomplish in terms of their estate planning goals.
  • When it comes to signing the will, the testator must sign it before two witnesses. Those witnesses must also sign the will to acknowledge that they witnessed the signing.
  • Nuncupative wills, which are orally stated wills, are not honored in the state of Arizona.
  • Holographic wills, which are handwritten wills, may be valid in some cases. In order for a holographic will to be valid, it must be signed and the material provisions must be written in the handwriting of the testator. Such a will does not need to be witnessed for it to be valid.

Although it’s possible to use a “template” to draft a will, Arizona estate planners are well-served to contract the services of a qualified estate planning attorney to assist in the creation of this very important document. With professional assistance, estate planners can dramatically reduce the chances of making errors that render their wills vulnerable to being challenged in court.