'Valid in all 50 states': what the claim on online will sites does and does not promise

“Valid in all 50 states” is one of the most common claims on online will sites. It is usually true in the narrow sense the company means, and misleading in the sense many readers take it. This page explains the difference, lists where services make exceptions despite the slogan, and shows the state rules that decide whether a will actually does what you want.

It carries no affiliate links and recommends nothing. Service details come from each company’s own pages, read on the date in the facts tables; state rules from official statute and court sites. This is general information, not legal advice.

What the claim means

When a will service says its documents are valid in all 50 states, it means its templates are drafted to satisfy each state’s legal requirements, and the questionnaire produces a version for your state with that state’s signing instructions.

What it cannot mean:

1. That your will is valid. Validity depends on how you sign: in most states, at the end, before two adult witnesses who are not beneficiaries. No website can do that part.
2. That your will does what you intend. State law can override parts of a valid will.
3. That every product works in every state. Several services have exceptions.

The exceptions, from the services’ own pages

Service	What it says about states
Quicken WillMaker & Trust	Not usable in Louisiana
Trust & Will	All 50 states; no trusts in Louisiana
Ethos	Not available in Alaska or Louisiana, on one page; another page also lists South Dakota and Washington
GoodTrust	Says valid in all 50 states; documents valid only in the U.S.
LegalZoom	Says its wills and trusts are accepted in all 50 states
FreeWill	Wills for property in the 50 states and DC
Rocket Lawyer	All 50 states and DC, Louisiana included

Louisiana is the common exception, because its succession law comes from the civil-law tradition and uses a different will form, signed before a notary and two witnesses. Ethos is the clearest example of why to check: its own two official pages give different lists of excluded states.

Same template, different rules: three examples

Signing. New York requires you to declare to each witness that the document is your will, and both witnesses must sign within one 30-day period. Florida requires the witnesses to sign in your presence and in each other’s. Same will, different ceremonies. Our New York page quotes the statute.

Trusts. Florida’s trust code says the provisions of a revocable trust that take effect at death are invalid unless the trust is signed with the formalities for a will, meaning two witnesses. Many trusts elsewhere are signed before a notary alone. A generic “sign before a notary” instruction would not be enough in Florida. Our Florida page explains.

Handwritten wills. California accepts a will written entirely in your own handwriting, signed and dated, with no witnesses. New York accepts them only from service members in wartime and mariners at sea. A national template tells you nothing about this, which matters only in an emergency.

Valid but overridden

A will can be valid and still not work as written:

• Spouses’ rights. Most states give a surviving spouse a right to part of the estate whatever the will says.
• Homesteads. Florida’s statute says a homestead is not subject to devise if the owner is survived by a spouse or minor child, except to the spouse where there is no minor child.
• Community property. In states such as California, much of what a married couple owns is community property, which affects what each spouse can leave.
• Divorce. New York, like many states, revokes gifts to a former spouse on divorce, unless the will says otherwise.

A template asks about your family, but it cannot apply these rules to your facts the way a lawyer would. Our page on what “drafted by attorneys” means covers that gap.

What to check, whatever service you use

1. Is your state excluded? Read the service’s state list, not the slogan.
2. Do the signing instructions match your state’s statute? Witness count, presence rules, declaration, notary.
3. If you are making a trust in Florida, sign it before two witnesses as well as a notary.
4. Are you married, in a community property state, or leaving a home? Check how your state’s rules affect your plan.
5. Do you own property in another state? Consider a trust that holds it, or a will for each country if abroad.
6. Did you move since signing? Re-run the questionnaire for your new state.