ABA Family Legal Guide

Estate Planning

Wills

Do I have to have a lawyer to write my will?

No. If your will meets the legal requirements established by the law of your state, it is valid, whether you wrote it with a lawyer's help or by yourself. However, a lawyer can help ensure that your will is more than just valid. Your lawyer can make sure that the will does what you really want it to do. It is for this reason that more than 85 percent of Americans who have wills worked with a lawyer.