✓ Verified June 2026
This guide covers Missouri estate planning in plain English — the exact age, witness, and notarization rules, whether a handwritten will is valid, and how to make your will self-proving. All figures are from Missouri law, verified as of June 2026.
In This Missouri Guide:
Missouri Will Requirements at a Glance
Here are the exact rules for making a valid will in Missouri:
| Minimum age to make a will | 18 (under RSMo 474.310, any person 18 or older and of sound mind may make a will; emancipated minors — by court adjudication, marriage, or entry into active military duty — may also make a valid will) |
| Witnesses required | 2 (RSMo 474.320 requires two or more competent witnesses who subscribe their names to the will in the presence of the testator; witnesses should be disinterested — a witness who is also a beneficiary may lose the gift left to them, though the will itself is not automatically invalidated) |
| Notarization required | NO — notarization is not required for a Missouri will to be valid. However, a notarized self-proving affidavit may be attached to streamline probate (see self_proving_available below) |
| Handwritten (holographic) will allowed | NO — Missouri does not recognize holographic (handwritten, unwitnessed) wills. Even a clearly written, signed document in the testator’s own handwriting is invalid without two attesting witnesses |
| Self-proving affidavit available | YES — under RSMo 474.337, a written will may be made self-proving at the time of execution or at any later date. The testator and the two witnesses each sign a sworn affidavit before an officer authorized to administer oaths (typically a notary public) confirming the will was properly executed. A self-proving affidavit creates a legal presumption of testamentary capacity and due execution, eliminating the need to locate witnesses during probate |
| Statutory will form | NO — Missouri does not provide an official statutory fill-in-the-blank will form in its statutes. Residents may use private legal services or consult a licensed attorney to draft a will |
What a Missouri Will Does (and Doesn’t Do)
In Missouri, a valid will may name a personal representative (executor) to manage the estate, name a guardian for minor children, direct how probate assets (real and personal property) are distributed, make specific bequests of particular items or dollar amounts, establish a testamentary trust, and express funeral or burial preferences
What a Missouri will does NOT control: A Missouri will does not control assets that pass outside probate — these include life insurance proceeds with a named beneficiary, retirement accounts (IRAs, 401(k)s) with a named beneficiary, payable-on-death (POD) and transfer-on-death (TOD) accounts, property held in joint tenancy with right of survivorship, and assets already held in a living trust.
These pass directly to the named beneficiary or surviving co-owner regardless of what the will says
Oral wills in Missouri: YES with narrow conditions — under RSMo 474.340, a nuncupative (oral) will is valid only if (1) the testator was in imminent peril of death and died as a result of that peril, (2) the testator declared it to be their will before two disinterested witnesses, (3) it was reduced to writing by or under the direction of one of the witnesses within 30 days,
and (4) it was submitted for probate within 6 months of the testator’s death.
A nuncupative will may dispose of personal property only, with a total value not exceeding 500 dollars
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How to Update or Revoke a Missouri Will
Under RSMo 474.400, a Missouri will may be amended by executing a codicil — a separate written document that modifies specific provisions of the existing will, signed and witnessed under the same formalities as the original will.
A will may be fully revoked by (1) executing a subsequent written will that expressly revokes the prior will or contains provisions so inconsistent as to revoke it by implication, or (2) burning, cancelling, tearing, or obliterating the will by the testator or by someone in the testator’s presence and at the testator’s direction
Other Missouri will-making rules: Missouri recognizes electronic wills under its adoption of the Uniform Electronic Wills Act (effective 2025). An electronic will must meet the same substantive requirements — signed by the testator and attested by two witnesses — but the signatures may be electronic and the will may be stored in electronic form.
Missouri also allows a will executed in another state or country to be valid if it complied with the law of the place where it was executed, the law of the testator’s domicile at execution, or Missouri law (RSMo 474.360). Additionally, divorce or annulment automatically revokes any provisions in a will in favor of the former spouse (RSMo 474.420)
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Understanding Missouri Estate Planning
Getting started with Missouri estate planning is the single best gift you can give your family. A valid Missouri will lets you decide who inherits, name an executor, and name a guardian for your children — instead of leaving it to a default state formula.
When people look into Missouri estate planning, the real answer comes down to the state’s execution rules: your age, the number of witnesses, and whether you make it self-proving. If any part of Missouri estate planning is unclear, your state court’s self-help center can point you to the official forms and resources.
Official Missouri Sources & Resources
- Missouri Court Self-Help: https://www.courts.mo.gov/page.jsp?id=662
- Missouri Wills Statute: https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneChapter.aspx?chapter=474
- Internal Revenue Service — Estate Tax: irs.gov
- Cornell Legal Information Institute: law.cornell.edu/wex
This Missouri will guide was last verified against official sources in June 2026. Laws change — verify with your state court or a licensed attorney.
More Missouri Wills & Probate Guides
- Missouri Probate Process
- Dying Without a Will in Missouri
- Missouri Estate & Inheritance Tax
- Missouri Small Estate Affidavit
- Missouri Living Trust
- Probate Cost Calculator
- All 51 States
Disclaimer: This guide is informational only and is not legal or tax advice. Estate, probate, and tax laws change and vary by state and county. Verify current rules and dollar figures with your state’s court, statute, or a licensed attorney or tax professional before acting. For urgent matters like an active probate or a tax deadline, consult a licensed professional in your state right away.