Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Texas

Your question is a bit unclear, as many laws might address whatever issue concerning a notary you have. The practice of having a notary public assist in the execution of a Will, however, really has very little to do with the Will itself. Wills are not notarized, nor are they required to be notarized.

When you see a notary's signature and stamp on a Will, you aren't usually looking at the Will -- you're looking at the Self-Proving Affidavit that often appears as the page behind the last page of the Will itself. This document is an affidavit, signed by the testator (person signing the Will,) the witnesses and a notary public. The affidavit contains the sworn statements of these individuals regarding the facts of execution of the Will. Section 59 of the Texas Probate Code provides the standard form that this affidavit takes, including the statements typically made in an acceptable affidavit.

Basically, the notarized affidavit prevents the necessity of having to bring forward the Will's witnesses (often years after the document was signed) to testify to the judge that they were there when the testator signed his or her Will.