Inheritance Law2026-10-15

Is it enough to type my will on the computer and sign it?

A will typed on a computer is invalid even if you sign it yourself. What the law requires as to form, and which mistakes make a will ineffective.

You drafted your last will on the computer, printed it out and signed it – perhaps neatly worded, with every beneficiary and their share set out. That is why you have come to me, with a single question: is that enough? The answer is uncomfortably clear-cut. In the worst case, it will cost you the entire will.

In short

No. Under § 2247 Abs. 1 BGB, a private will must be written entirely by hand and signed in person. A text typed, printed or dictated on a computer does not satisfy this form – not even if you sign it yourself. Where the prescribed form is missing, the whole will is void under § 125 BGB – not merely the signature or individual passages.

How I can help you

Checking whether an existing will is formally valid – in good time, before the inheritance arises
Drafting a legally watertight handwritten will, or advising on the notarial alternative
Assessing the legal position where a will may be ineffective, and the consequences for statutory succession
Support with joint wills between spouses and with additions to existing dispositions

Why a typed will is automatically void

§ 2247 Abs. 1 BGB requires a “declaration written and signed in the testator’s own hand”. This is not a matter of style but a condition of validity. By insisting on handwriting, the legislator wants to ensure that the text genuinely comes from the testator themselves. Handwriting can be attributed by comparison of script; a printout cannot. Where this form is absent, § 125 BGB applies: a legal transaction that lacks the form prescribed by law is void. In law the will then simply does not exist, as though you had never written it.

Crucially, signing a typed text by hand does not cure the defect. The signature does confirm that the text is meant to come from you. But the form requires the whole text to be handwritten – not just the signature. Anyone who writes the body of the text on a computer and merely signs underneath by hand has not, in formal terms, made a will under § 2247 BGB at all.

What “in your own hand” really means

In your own hand means written with your own hand, from the first word to the last. That rules out:

Typed or printed texts, even where you composed them yourself
Dictated texts that someone else writes down
Texts that another person writes out on your instructions – even with your signature underneath
Pre-printed forms or templates with only the blanks filled in by hand, where the operative wording does not come from you

The only alternative to handwriting is the notarial will (a public will recorded by a notary). Anyone who can no longer write by hand for health reasons must take this route. A typed document does not become any more valid as a result.

The signature is decisive – and in practice it is often where things fail

Under § 2247 Abs. 3 BGB the signature should contain your first name and surname and should appear at the end of the text. “Should” here means that a signature in another form is not automatically ineffective. But it must clearly show that you composed the text and meant the declaration seriously. This is exactly where things become difficult in practice.

A mere initial or a mark with no recognisable letter structure often fails to meet this standard. The same is true of a signature that cannot be clearly linked to a complete identity. In a dispute, the courts examine very closely whether authorship and seriousness genuinely emerge from the particular signature. Recent decisions of the Higher Regional Courts (Oberlandesgerichte) return to precisely this question time and again. Are you unsure whether your signature meets this standard? Better to settle that now than only once the inheritance arises.

If the signature appears not at the end but only at the head of the document, that counts against formal validity. It then remains unclear whether the entire text that follows is still covered by the signature.

Date, place and later additions: what is mandatory and what is not

Under § 2247 Abs. 2 BGB, place and date are only recommended (“should”) particulars. Their absence does not automatically render the will ineffective. § 2247 Abs. 5 BGB sets out the consequence: if the time or place is missing, this can become a problem in a dispute. Where several wills exist, for instance, it is then often unclear which was made last and is therefore the decisive one. In that situation the will is valid only if the time or place can be reliably established in some other way. Without a date, it becomes hard in a dispute to make a later will prevail over an earlier one.

Another frequent mistake is later additions or deletions on a will that has already been signed. Every substantive addition needs its own signature, in your own hand, beneath the addition. Otherwise it remains unclear whether the addition comes from the testator at all and is still covered by the original signature.

For spouses there is a relaxation under § 2267 BGB. With a joint will it is enough for one spouse to draw up the text in their own hand in the prescribed form. The other spouse then co-signs the joint declaration in their own hand, stating the time and place of their own signature. Even this remains tied to the handwriting of the one spouse. Nothing becomes valid merely by being typed.

A typical case from practice

My client had drawn up his will years earlier on the computer, printed it, signed it and filed it away in a folder – in the honest belief that everything was now settled. It was only when his relatives presented the document to the probate court after his death that the truth came out. The will was formally invalid because it had not been written by hand. Statutory succession applied, and it bore no relation to what my client had actually wanted. A life partner without a marriage certificate came away with nothing at all – the law simply makes no provision for them.

Common mistakes

Composing the text on the computer and only providing the signature by hand
Using a signature that does not reveal your full name
Placing the signature at the beginning instead of at the end of the text
Adding to an old will without a separate signature under the addition
Keeping several wills without a date – when the inheritance arises it is then unclear which one applies
Relying on a template from the internet that you merely “fill in” – instead of writing the whole text yourself

Frequently asked questions

Is my will invalid if only the heading is typed but the rest is handwritten?

It depends on the individual case. What matters is whether the actual operative text is written entirely in your own hand. By that I mean the text in which you genuinely order something. A typed heading such as “My Will” above an otherwise fully handwritten text is usually harmless. If in doubt, however, you should avoid it.

Can I save my typed will by now copying it out again by hand?

Yes – but only if you write out the whole text afresh by hand and sign it again with your full name at the end. The existing typed document remains void regardless. What you create is a completely new, free-standing will.

What applies if there is no valid will at all?

Then statutory succession applies, according to degree of kinship and marriage. That can differ considerably from what you actually wanted. It affects, for example, unmarried partners, stepchildren in blended families, or particular relatives whom the law does not take into account automatically.

Is a notarial will safer than a handwritten one?

In formal terms, yes: the notary checks that it is valid, and the document is held in official safekeeping. But a carefully made handwritten will is just as effective. You simply have to observe the form more strictly, because no one checks it beforehand.

Is it enough to scan the will and destroy the original?

No. For the form, what counts is the original written and signed in your own hand. At most, a scan can serve in the inheritance as evidence that an original once existed. But it does not replace the original, and it carries the added risk that its authenticity will be disputed.

Your next step

A formal defect in a will often comes to light only when you are no longer there – and by then it is too late to put right. Are you unsure whether your existing will meets these requirements? Or do you want to draw up a new one on a secure footing? Have it checked beforehand. In inheritance law I will support you throughout, from the question of form to the substance of the drafting.

The next part of this series looks at how to word heirs, legacies and substitute heirs unambiguously in a handwritten will, so that no dispute over interpretation arises later on.

This article provides general information and is no substitute for legal advice in an individual case. Last updated: 2026-10-15.

This article was written by Christian Czirnich, a German Rechtsanwalt (lawyer) since 1994, Kirchseeon (district of Ebersberg). He advises heirs, those entitled to a compulsory portion and testators in inheritance law, with clients from the district of Ebersberg, east Munich and the Rosenheim area, in English or German and by video on request.

Christian Czirnich, Rechtsanwalt (attorney at law), Kirchseeon near Munich

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