Nebraska’s last will and testament requirements are set by the state probate code: the person signing must be at least 18 and of sound mind, the will must be in writing, the testator must sign it (or direct someone else to sign in their presence), and at least two witnesses must sign after seeing the signing or the testator’s acknowledgment of the signature. Meet those, and the document is valid. Miss any of them, and a court can refuse to admit it to probate.
Who Can Make a Will
Nebraska Revised Statute 30-2326 sets two threshold requirements: the person making the will must be at least 18 and of sound mind.1Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Code 30-2326 – Who May Make a Will Sound mind doesn’t demand perfect mental health. It means the person understands what property they own, who their natural heirs are, and what effect the will has on distributing that property. Nebraska courts have consistently held that testamentary capacity is a separate question from the mechanical execution of the will, so someone with declining memory can still make a valid will during a lucid period.
How a Will Must Be Signed and Witnessed
Under Nebraska Revised Statute 30-2327, a will must be in writing and signed by the person making it, or signed by someone else in their presence and at their direction.2Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Code 30-2327 – Execution Nebraska reads “writing” broadly. Handwritten, typed, printed from a computer, or filled in on a pre-printed form all qualify. Format doesn’t matter as long as the document clearly shows testamentary intent.
Two witnesses must also sign. They need to have either seen the testator sign the will or heard the testator acknowledge the signature afterward.2Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Code 30-2327 – Execution
Nebraska does not recognize oral wills. A spoken statement about how you want your property distributed, even in front of a room full of witnesses, carries no legal weight.
Witnesses Who Are Also Beneficiaries
Nebraska doesn’t require witnesses to be disinterested, which sets it apart from some other states. A will remains valid even if a witness is also named as a beneficiary. But Nebraska Revised Statute 30-2330 imposes a penalty: if there isn’t at least one disinterested witness, an interested witness can receive only what they would have inherited under intestacy rules, not the potentially larger share the will gives them.3Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Code 30-2330 – Who May Witness The practical rule is simple. Use witnesses who aren’t beneficiaries.
Handwritten Wills Without Witnesses
Nebraska recognizes holographic wills, which are handwritten and need no witnesses. Under Revised Statute 30-2328, a holographic will is valid if the signature, the material provisions, and an indication of the date are all in the testator’s own handwriting.4Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Code 30-2328 – Holographic Will A missing date doesn’t automatically kill the will, as long as it’s the only holographic will or doesn’t conflict with another one.
Convenient, but risky. Handwriting can be difficult to authenticate, and homemade wills often contain vague or contradictory language. If you can arrange witnesses and a notary, do that instead.
Making the Will Self-Proved
A self-proved will spares the estate from tracking down witnesses years later to confirm they actually saw the signing. Nebraska Revised Statute 30-2329 allows a will to be made self-proving either at signing or at any point afterward.5Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Code 30-2329 – Self-Proved Will The testator signs an acknowledgment and each witness signs an affidavit, all before an officer authorized to administer oaths. That officer then attaches a notarized certificate under official seal.
The payoff comes at probate. Without the self-proving affidavit, the court may need live testimony from the witnesses to admit the will. If a witness has died, moved, or can’t be located, the estate has to prove the will’s validity through other evidence, which means delay and expense. A self-proved will avoids all of that. The court accepts it without further inquiry, unless someone raises a specific claim of fraud or undue influence. For the small effort involved, it’s one of the highest-value steps in estate planning.
Changing or Revoking a Will
Nebraska recognizes two methods of revocation under Revised Statute 30-2332. You can execute a new will that either expressly revokes the old one or contains terms inconsistent with it. Or you can physically destroy the document by burning, tearing, canceling, or obliterating it, as long as you intend the destruction as revocation.6Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Code 30-2332 – Revocation by Writing or by Act Someone else can destroy the will on your behalf, but only in your presence and at your direction.
A codicil is a written amendment that changes specific parts of a will without replacing the whole document. Nebraska’s probate code defines “will” to include codicils and other testamentary instruments, so a codicil must meet the same execution requirements as the will itself: written, signed, and witnessed by at least two people.7Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Code 30-2209 – Probate Code Definitions Codicils work for minor edits, like updating a beneficiary or adjusting a bequest. For major changes, a new will with an express revocation clause is cleaner and avoids conflicting instructions.
What Divorce and Marriage Do to a Will
Divorce automatically revokes every provision in a will that benefits a former spouse. Under Revised Statute 30-2333, divorce or annulment revokes any property dispositions to a former spouse, any powers of appointment granted to them, and any nominations naming them as personal representative, trustee, or other fiduciary.8Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Code 30-2333 – Revocation by Divorce or Annulment; No Revocation by Other Changes of Circumstances The revocation reaches relatives of the former spouse as well. After divorce, the will is read as if the former spouse and their relatives disclaimed everything the will gave them.
Three details catch people off guard. A legal separation that doesn’t terminate the marriage doesn’t trigger this revocation. The statute applies not just to wills but to other governing instruments such as trusts, insurance beneficiary designations, and transfer-on-death deeds executed before the divorce. And the automatic revocation can be overridden by the express terms of a divorce settlement or court order dividing the marital estate. Relying on the automatic revocation rather than updating your will is still risky. Executing a fresh will after a divorce is the safer path.
Marriage works the other direction. The statute’s title expressly states “no revocation by other changes of circumstances.” Marrying after signing a will does not revoke it. The new spouse, though, can claim a share of the estate through the elective share process below.
The Surviving Spouse’s Elective Share
A surviving spouse in Nebraska is never entirely bound by the will. Under Revised Statute 30-2317, a surviving spouse may elect to take up to one-half of the “augmented estate” instead of accepting what the will provides.9Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Code 30-2317 – Right of Election The augmented estate reaches beyond probate assets to include certain lifetime transfers during the marriage, which prevents someone from giving away all their property before death to defeat the spouse’s share.
To claim the share, the surviving spouse must file a petition in probate court within nine months after the date of death or within six months after the will is admitted to probate, whichever deadline expires later.9Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Code 30-2317 – Right of Election Missing the deadline means accepting what the will provides. The spouse can withdraw the election any time before the court’s final determination, so filing early to preserve the right while negotiations continue is a common strategy.
If the Will Fails or Doesn’t Exist
When a will fails the execution requirements or the person never made one, Nebraska’s intestacy rules distribute the property instead. The surviving spouse’s share depends on who else survives, and under Revised Statute 30-2302 it shrinks sharply when the deceased leaves children from a prior relationship: the spouse receives only half of the estate with no guaranteed minimum, compared to the first $100,000 plus half the balance in most other configurations.10Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Code 30-2302 – Share of the Spouse Blended families are the situation where a properly executed will matters most, and also the situation where people most often put it off.