Making a will in Missouri: requirements and planning

What should you do first when making a will in Missouri? Start by recording your wishes and gathering your information, then check the Missouri requirements before signing. Missouri’s verified rules include two witnesses aged 18 or older and no requirement that the witnesses be present simultaneously with each other. Those facts are a starting point—not a complete signing procedure.

This guide covers Missouri only. It separates confirmed rules from questions that need local verification, including parts of the writing and signing process. It provides general information, not personal legal advice or a determination that a particular document is valid.

Making a will in Missouri: prepare before you sign

If you are researching how to write a will in Missouri, separate the work into two stages: deciding what you want and checking how to document those wishes under Missouri law. A clear draft makes the second stage more manageable.

Prepare a working folder containing:

Your personal details: your full name, address, and family circumstances.
The people and organizations you want to include: full names, contact details, and enough information to distinguish people with similar names.
A property inventory: homes, accounts, investments, business interests, and meaningful personal belongings.
Your proposed gifts: what you would like each person or organization to receive, with questions marked for review.
Alternative wishes: what you would prefer if your first choice is no longer possible.
Existing documents: earlier wills and any other planning documents you want a Missouri lawyer to consider.

These are preparation suggestions, not a list of Missouri’s legal requirements. Keep uncertain information visibly marked rather than filling gaps with guesses.

Missouri will requirements: witnesses, writing, and signing

What is confirmed about witnesses?

The verified Missouri witness rules specify:

Two witnesses.
A minimum witness age of 18.
No requirement for the witnesses to be present simultaneously with each other.

The last point is narrow. It does not answer what each witness must observe, when each person must sign, or what presence is required between a witness and the person making the will. Check those applicable Missouri requirements before arranging the signing.

Also check Missouri’s rules about witness eligibility beyond age, including whether a proposed witness’s connection to a gift matters. This guide does not establish the consequences of using a beneficiary as a witness.

What should you check about writing and signatures?

The verified Missouri information available for this guide does not provide a complete statement of the ordinary writing and signature formalities. Before signing, obtain Missouri-specific answers to these questions:

What form must the document take?
Who must sign, and where?
What must the witnesses see or hear?
What procedure applies if you need physical assistance signing?
What age and capacity requirements apply to the person making the will?
What role, if any, does notarization or a self-proving affidavit have?

Do not treat a signature block in a template as the answer to these questions. Likewise, this guide does not establish that notarization is required, optional, or a substitute for witnessing in Missouri.

Can you rely on a handwritten will?

Missouri does not recognize holographic wills under the verified Missouri rules. Do not rely on handwriting alone as a route to a valid Missouri will. If you already have a handwritten document, have its form and execution reviewed against the applicable Missouri requirements.

Can you make an electronic will in Missouri?

Missouri permits electronic execution of wills under Mo. Rev. Stat. § 474.560, effective August 28, 2025. The verified information describes this as a limited electronic-execution framework, not a complete electronic-will process that can be inferred from an ordinary online signing tool.

Remote witnessing and custody requirements remain unverified in the source information for this guide. Their unverified status is neither permission nor a prohibition. Check Missouri’s applicable requirements before using video witnesses, electronic signatures, or an electronic storage arrangement for execution.

For practical planning, distinguish three activities: preparing a draft on a computer, signing electronically, and keeping a digital copy. Verification of one does not establish the requirements for the others.

If you would like to begin organizing your wishes, you can explore MemWall’s will page as a starting point for a Missouri draft. Treat the draft as preparation for the necessary Missouri checks, not as confirmation that the document or signing process meets them.

Who can inherit under your proposed plan?

Start with the people and organizations you want to benefit. Record their names and your intended gifts, then ask a Missouri lawyer to check the proposed arrangements, including any restrictions or protections relevant to your family.

One confirmed Missouri protection needs particular attention: Missouri has a surviving-spouse elective share. That allows a surviving spouse to elect against the will. The Missouri election must be assessed under Mo. Rev. Stat. §474.160; it should not be reduced to a flat one-half or one-third formula.

Missouri’s verified rules do not provide a forced-heirship share for descendants. That does not answer every question about a child’s position under a particular will. Check applicable Missouri requirements concerning omitted children and any proposed exclusion rather than assuming that a brief statement settles the issue.

Useful questions for review include:

Can the intended recipient receive the proposed gift in the form described?
What arrangements should be considered for a young recipient?
How should you describe a gift shared among several people?
What should happen if the intended recipient dies before you?
Which listed assets should be addressed in this will?

Keep those questions alongside the draft so they are not lost during revisions.

What happens without a will in Missouri?

To find out who would inherit without a will, check Missouri’s applicable intestate succession requirements. The verified Missouri information for this guide does not establish the order of heirs, their shares, or the treatment of every family relationship. It would therefore be misleading to provide a distribution table or promise that a particular relative receives everything.

For a useful local consultation, prepare a family outline showing your spouse, children, other descendants, parents, and siblings, as relevant. Include previous marriages and any uncertainty about family relationships.

Ask for an explanation based on your actual circumstances: who would receive which property under Missouri’s rules, and how that compares with your wishes. This is more useful than relying on a national inheritance calculator or a general statement about “next of kin.”

Keeping and updating your will

Storage planning should make the document identifiable and findable. As practical housekeeping, keep a separate note of where you placed it, who knows its location, and where you keep related records. Protect paper from ordinary damage and label working drafts clearly.

Check applicable Missouri requirements concerning originals, copies, electronic custody, filing, and delivery. This guide does not establish that a scan can replace an original or that any particular storage service meets Missouri requirements.

Review your planning notes when circumstances change—for example, after a marriage, separation, death, move, or substantial change in property. These are suggested review occasions, not legal deadlines or statements about the automatic legal effect of those events.

Before changing, replacing, or destroying an existing will, check Missouri’s amendment and revocation requirements. Keep proposed edits in a separate working document until you have confirmed the appropriate process.

A clear next step

The most useful next step is a well-organized draft and a short list of unresolved Missouri questions. Confirm the writing and signing procedure, witness eligibility, family protections, and storage arrangements before treating the work as finished.

You can return to MemWall’s will preparation page for your Missouri planning when you are ready to prepare a draft. MemWall’s approach here keeps Missouri’s recorded rules separate from unanswered local requirements. Neither this guide nor the draft is an assurance of Missouri legal compliance; obtain Missouri-specific review where those requirements or your circumstances need clarification.

Making a will in Missouri: a practical guide