Also known as: holographic instruments · holographic will · holograph
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A testamentary writing that qualifies as a valid will without witnesses or other formalities when the testator's signature and the material portions of the document appear in the testator's handwriting.
Henry Hoffman sat in his truck cab and used a stylus to write out his wishes on the mounted tablet. He formed each letter in his own cursive script, stating that his entire estate should go to his fiancée and nothing to his son. After signing the document in the same handwriting, the tablet synced the record to cloud storage. The probate court admitted the instrument because the signature and material portions remained in Henry's handwriting.
Harold Hunt wrote two short notes on the back of a business card and a pay stub, folded them together in a sealed envelope, and placed them with his papers. The notes changed the distribution of his estate from an earlier typewritten will. After his death his siblings offered the notes for probate as a superseding will. The court treated the handwritten instrument as a valid holographic codicil because the signature and dispositive language were entirely in Harold's handwriting.
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The document qualifies if the testator's signature and the material portions appear in the testator's own handwriting. No witnesses are required. The rule focuses on the handwriting of the dispositive terms to ensure authenticity.
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Printed matter does not invalidate the will when it is surplusage. Courts disregard non-handwritten portions if the handwritten provisions make sense as a will without them. The material portions identifying property and beneficiaries must still be in the testator's handwriting.
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Under the Revised Uniform Probate Code only the material portions need to be handwritten. Immaterial printed words such as boilerplate introductory phrases may remain part of the document. The testator must still sign the instrument.
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…decedent’s testamentary intent by imposing very stringent requirements on a will contest. (See Prob. Code, §§ 6111 [signature on holographic will must be in the testator’s handwriting], 6110 [typewritten will must be executed and witnessed].) Recognition of the IIEI tort could enable plaintiffs to usurp a testator’s true intent by…