Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New York

A will executed in NY without at least two witnesses is invalid per se. It does not comply with the statute.

However, a holographic will is a will and testament that has been entirely handwritten and signed by the testator. Normally, a will must be signed by witnesses attesting to the validity of the testator's signature and intent, but in many jurisdictions, holographic wills that have not been witnessed are treated equally to witnessed wills and need only to meet minimal requirements in order to be probated:

There must be evidence that the testator actually created the will, which can be proved through the use of witnesses, handwriting experts, or other methods.

The testator must have had the intellectual capacity to write the will, although there is a presumption that a testator had such capacity unless there is evidence to the contrary.

The testator must be expressing a wish to direct the distribution of his estate to beneficiaries.

Holographic wills are common and are often created in emergency situations, such as when the testator is alone, trapped and near death. Jurisdictions that do not generally recognize unwitnessed holographic wills will accordingly grant exceptions to members of the armed services who are involved in armed conflicts and sailors at sea, though in both cases the validity of the holographic will expires at a certain time after it is drafted.