{"id":1385,"date":"2025-07-10T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-10T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.uslegalwills.com\/blog\/?p=1385"},"modified":"2026-06-09T13:49:36","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T17:49:36","slug":"online-will","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uslegalwills.com\/blog\/online-will\/","title":{"rendered":"The Online Will"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\n  \"@context\": \"https:\/\/schema.org\",\n  \"@type\": \"Article\",\n  \"headline\": \"The Online Will: What It Really Means and How It Works\",\n  \"datePublished\": \"2014-10-01\",\n  \"dateModified\": \"2025-06-23\",\n  \"author\": {\"@type\": \"Person\", \"name\": \"Tim Hewson\", \"url\": \"https:\/\/www.uslegalwills.com\"},\n  \"publisher\": {\"@type\": \"Organization\", \"name\": \"USLegalWills.com\", \"url\": \"https:\/\/www.uslegalwills.com\"},\n  \"description\": \"An online Will is a Will prepared using an online service. The law still requires Wills to be printed, signed, and witnessed. Learn how online Will services work and their advantages.\",\n  \"speakable\": {\"@type\": \"SpeakableSpecification\", \"cssSelector\": [\".tldr-box\", \"article h2\"]}\n}<\/script>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\n  \"@context\": \"https:\/\/schema.org\",\n  \"@type\": \"FAQPage\",\n  \"mainEntity\": [\n    {\n      \"@type\": \"Question\",\n      \"name\": \"What is an online Will?\",\n      \"acceptedAnswer\": {\"@type\": \"Answer\", \"text\": \"An online Will is a Last Will and Testament prepared using an online service. You answer guided questions, and the service generates a legally valid document. You must still print, sign, and have it witnessed by two people. The term 'online Will' refers to how the document is created, not how it is stored or executed.\"}\n    },\n    {\n      \"@type\": \"Question\",\n      \"name\": \"Is an online Will legally valid?\",\n      \"acceptedAnswer\": {\"@type\": \"Answer\", \"text\": \"Yes. A Will prepared using an online service is legally valid in all 50 U.S. states, provided it is printed, signed by the testator, and witnessed by two independent witnesses. The law requires the document to exist on paper \u2014 digital-only Wills are not legally recognized in most jurisdictions.\"}\n    },\n    {\n      \"@type\": \"Question\",\n      \"name\": \"What are the advantages of using an online Will service?\",\n      \"acceptedAnswer\": {\"@type\": \"Answer\", \"text\": \"Online Will services offer five key advantages: digital signatures are harder to forge than handwritten ones, documents cannot be secretly viewed (keyholder systems prevent unauthorized access), only one current version exists (preventing confusion from multiple copies), digital backups prevent destruction from disasters, and documents stored online can always be found by your Executor.\"}\n    }\n  ]\n}<\/script>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Originally published: October 1, 2014 | Last updated: June 23, 2025<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<section class=\"wp-block-group tldr-box has-background\" style=\"border-left-color:#2980b9;border-left-width:4px;background-color:#f0f7fb;padding-top:20px;padding-right:20px;padding-bottom:20px;padding-left:20px\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>TL;DR:<\/strong> An &#8220;online Will&#8221; is a Will prepared using an online service \u2014 not a Will that exists only in digital form. U.S. law requires every Will to be printed on paper, signed by the testator, and witnessed by two independent witnesses. Online Will services like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uslegalwills.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">USLegalWills.com<\/a> generate the document for you through guided questions; you then print, sign, and witness it. Online preparation offers significant advantages over traditional methods, including forgery protection, secure storage, version control, disaster resilience, and ease of retrieval.\n<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We are seeing an increasing number of articles about \u201conline Wills,\u201d but the definition remains vague.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image is-resized\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"923\" height=\"519\" data-attachment-id=\"2000\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.uslegalwills.com\/blog\/online-will\/92219150-husband-and-pregnant-wife-using-their-laptop-in-the-bed\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.uslegalwills.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/92219150_m.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"923,519\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;92219150 - husband and pregnant wife using their laptop in the bed&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;moovstock\/123RF&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;92219150 - husband and pregnant wife using their laptop in the bed&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"92219150 &amp;#8211; husband and pregnant wife using their laptop in the bed\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Copyright: &lt;a href=&#039;https:\/\/www.123rf.com\/profile_moovstock&#039;&gt;moovstock \/ 123RF Stock Photo&lt;\/a&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.uslegalwills.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/92219150_m.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uslegalwills.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/92219150_m.jpg\" alt=\"Online Will\" class=\"wp-image-2000\" style=\"width:923px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.uslegalwills.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/92219150_m.jpg 923w, https:\/\/www.uslegalwills.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/92219150_m-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.uslegalwills.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/92219150_m-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.uslegalwills.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/92219150_m-770x433.jpg 770w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 923px) 100vw, 923px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Copyright: moovstock \/ 123RF Stock Photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Is a Last Will and Testament?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The law establishes specific requirements which determine what qualifies as a valid Last Will and Testament across different legal regions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Written or typed<\/strong> on a piece of paper<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Signed<\/strong> by the testator (the person making the Will)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Witnessed<\/strong> by two independent witnesses who have nothing to gain from the contents of the Will<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The term \u201cusually\u201d applies because certain areas let people create \u201cholographic Wills\u201d through handwritten documents which need no two witnesses for validation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Each state requires its law to have a document which exists only as a physical paper document.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Is an Online Will, Then?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uslegalwills.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">USLegalWills.com<\/a>, we offer an &#8220;online, Will service&#8221;  &#8211;  meaning that you can prepare your Will entirely online. The placement of that comma is crucial. There is no legal recognition of an &#8220;online Will&#8221; as a standalone digital document. Many services claim to let you &#8220;store your Will online,&#8221; but any digitally stored document  &#8211;  whether a facsimile, scanned copy, or digitized version  &#8211;  is not legally admissible in probate courts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The main function of an online Will service involves helping users answer questions about their family and possessions and desired outcomes before creating a valid legal Will document.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Online Will services which operate through the internet solve multiple problems that paper-based Wills create.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The law demands that people create printed Wills which they must sign before getting witnesses.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Forgery protection<br>Digital signatures provide mathematical authentication.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You then sign it in the presence of two witnesses<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Version control\nOnly one current version exists online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Are the Advantages of an Online Will Service?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Privacy and security\nKeyholder systems provide better security than sealed envelopes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><th class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">Advantage<\/th><th class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">How Online Services Solve It<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Forgery protection<\/strong><\/td><td>Digital signatures are a mathematical way of authenticating identity  &#8211;  nearly impossible to forge, unlike a handwritten scrawl<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Privacy and security<\/strong><\/td><td>Keyholder systems ensure only authorized people can access the document at the right time  &#8211;  far more secure than a sealed envelope in a bedside table<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Version control<\/strong><\/td><td>Only one current version exists online, eliminating the common problem of multiple conflicting Wills surfacing during probate<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Disaster resilience<\/strong><\/td><td>Paper deteriorates and can be destroyed by floods, fires, or hurricanes. Online backups survive natural disasters<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Findability<\/strong><\/td><td>The most common question we receive: &#8220;My parent had a Will, but we cannot find it.&#8221; If the Will cannot be found, legally it does not exist<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Will the Law Ever Accept Digital-Only Wills?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The online process for creating a Will at USLegalWills.com takes around 20 minutes to complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Related reading:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How Do I Create a Will Online?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Comparing LegalZoom with USLegalWills<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Related reading:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Write Your Own Will &#8211; 10 Reasons Why It Makes Sense<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Comparing LegalZoom with USLegalWills<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.uslegalwills.com\/blog\/ten-ridiculous-warnings-lawyers-give-about-online-will-services\/\">10 Ridiculous Warnings Lawyers Give About Online Will Services<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.uslegalwills.com\/blog\/write-your-own-will\/\">Write Your Own Will  &#8211;  10 Reasons Why It Makes Sense<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.uslegalwills.com\/blog\/comparing-legalzoom-with-uslegalwills\/\">Comparing LegalZoom with USLegalWills<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Originally published: October 1, 2014 | Last updated: June 23, 2025 TL;DR: An &#8220;online Will&#8221; is a Will prepared using an online service \u2014 not a Will that exists only in digital form. U.S. law requires every Will to be printed on paper, signed by the testator, and witnessed by two independent witnesses. Online Will [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[183,178],"tags":[104,114,193,201],"class_list":["post-1385","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","category-wills","tag-signing-a-will","tag-write-your-will","tag-witnessing","tag-writing-a-will"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\r\n<title>Online Will service at USLegalWills.com<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"There is no such thing as an &quot;online Will&quot;. A Will must be printed on a piece of paper and signed with witnesses to be accepted by the courts. You can prepare a Will using an online Will service, but any time a document is created, it must be downloaded, printed and signed before it is recognized as a legal Will.\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/www.uslegalwills.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1385\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Online Will service at USLegalWills.com\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"There is no such thing as an &quot;online Will&quot;. A Will must be printed on a piece of paper and signed with witnesses to be accepted by the courts. You can prepare a Will using an online Will service, but any time a document is created, it must be downloaded, printed and signed before it is recognized as a legal Will.\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.uslegalwills.com\/blog\/online-will\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The U.S. Legal Wills Blog\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/legalwills\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-07-10T16:00:00+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-06-09T17:49:36+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.uslegalwills.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/92219150_m.jpg\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"923\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"519\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Tim Hewson\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Tim Hewson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uslegalwills.com\\\/blog\\\/online-will\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uslegalwills.com\\\/blog\\\/online-will\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Tim Hewson\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uslegalwills.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ccff18ac4aeb6f68ba2c609077f8c323\"},\"headline\":\"The Online Will\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-10T16:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-09T17:49:36+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uslegalwills.com\\\/blog\\\/online-will\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":587,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uslegalwills.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uslegalwills.com\\\/blog\\\/online-will\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uslegalwills.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2014\\\/10\\\/92219150_m.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"signing\",\"wills\",\"witnessing\",\"writing a will\"],\"articleSection\":[\"General\",\"Wills\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uslegalwills.com\\\/blog\\\/online-will\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uslegalwills.com\\\/blog\\\/online-will\\\/\",\"name\":\"Online Will service at USLegalWills.com\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uslegalwills.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uslegalwills.com\\\/blog\\\/online-will\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uslegalwills.com\\\/blog\\\/online-will\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uslegalwills.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2014\\\/10\\\/92219150_m.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-10T16:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-09T17:49:36+00:00\",\"description\":\"There is no such thing as an \\\"online Will\\\". 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A Will must be printed on a piece of paper and signed with witnesses to be accepted by the courts. 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He has over 20 years of experience helping people to write their Will and other estate planning documents. He has been interviewed by many of the major news media outlets, and has contributed to articles in The New York Times, NY Metro Parents, U.S. News &amp; World Report, and other leading publications. He has also contributed to a number of financial planning books. 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