# West Virginia — Will execution requirements by state: witnesses, notarization, holographic and electronic wills

For West Virginia, witnesses required is the signature shall be made or the will acknowledged by him in the presence of at least two competent witnesses, present at the same time; and such witnesses shall subscribe the will in the presence of the testator, and of each other; holographic wills is unless it be wholly in the handwriting of the testator, the signature shall be made or the will acknowledged by him in the presence of at least two competent witnesses; statute citation is W. Va. Code § 41-1-3, recorded from its source on 2026-09-02.

- **State:** West Virginia
- **Witnesses required:** the signature shall be made or the will acknowledged by him in the presence of at least two competent witnesses, present at the same time; and such witnesses shall subscribe the will in the presence of the testator, and of each other _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Holographic wills:** unless it be wholly in the handwriting of the testator, the signature shall be made or the will acknowledged by him in the presence of at least two competent witnesses _(verified: appears in its own passage below)_
- **Statute citation:** W. Va. Code § 41-1-3 _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_

## What the source says

> No will shall be valid unless it be in writing and signed by the testator, or by some other person in his presence and by his direction, in such manner as to make it manifest that the name is intended as a signature; and moreover, unless it be wholly in the handwriting of the testator, the signature shall be made or the will acknowledged by him in the presence of at least two competent witnesses, present at the same time; and such witnesses shall subscribe the will in the presence of the testator, and of each other, but no form of attestation shall be necessary.

## Where each value comes from

This source states these in separate places, so each value is shown with the passage that states it.

### Holographic wills

> and moreover, unless it be wholly in the handwriting of the testator, the signature shall be made or the will acknowledged by him in the presence of at least two competent witnesses, present at the same time

## Source

- https://code.wvlegislature.gov/41-1-3/

Last verified: 2026-09-02. Review by: 2028-02-24.
Part of [Will execution requirements by state: witnesses, notarization, holographic and electronic wills](https://referencesource.org/will-execution-requirements-by-state/).