The situation: Mr. Tu, 68, in Can Tho, hand-wrote his will on two sheets of school paper, leaving his garden plot to his youngest son. He signed the last page but wrote no date, made some erasures, and asked the youngest son to sign as “witness.” After his death, the other children sued to void the will. Will Mr. Tu’s handwritten will survive?
A handwritten will can be perfectly valid without notarization — but it must avoid the mistakes Mr. Tu made.
1. Conditions for a valid handwritten will
Article 633 of the Civil Code 2015 (No. 91/2015/QH13, in force as of 18 October 2026): a written will without witnesses must be written and signed by the testator themselves. Combined with Article 630 (valid wills), a handwritten will takes effect when:
- the testator is of sound mind when making it — not deceived, threatened or coerced;
- the content does not violate legal prohibitions or social ethics;
- the form follows Article 631: date of making; testator’s full name and residence; names of the persons, agencies or organizations inheriting; the estate and its location; no abbreviations or symbols; multi-page wills numbered on each page with the testator’s signature or fingerprint.
Nothing requires a handwritten will to have witnesses or notarization. That is the good news — and also why many handwritten wills collapse in court: there is no evidentiary “safety net” beyond the paper itself.
2. Mr. Tu’s five mistakes
Mistake 1 — No date. Article 631 lists the date as mandatory content. Without it, nobody can tell which will is the “latest” when several exist (Article 643(3)), and the testator’s capacity at the time of making is harder to prove.
Mistake 2 — Unsigned erasures. Under Article 631, erasures and corrections must be countersigned by the person who wrote the will (or the witnesses beside them). Bare erasures raise suspicion of post-signing alteration.
Mistake 3 — Using a beneficiary as “witness.” The youngest son, who inherits the garden, is disqualified from witnessing under Article 632 (heirs under the will may not witness). Worse, this was meant to be a no-witness will under Article 633 — the son’s signature as witness is both unnecessary and wrong, giving opponents grounds to attack the chosen form.
Mistake 4 — Pages not numbered and signed. A two-page will signed only on the last page invites claims the first page was swapped. Article 631 requires each page numbered with signature or fingerprint.
Mistake 5 — No proof of sound mind. At 68, if medical records suggest cognitive decline, opponents will demand an expert assessment. A notarized will has the edge here because the notary recorded the testator’s condition at signing.
3. When to handwrite, when to notarize
Handwriting suffices when: the assets are modest, the family agrees, the testator is healthy and clear-minded, and Articles 631 and 633 are strictly followed.
Notarize when: the assets include high-value real estate; family conflict is likely; the testator is elderly or unwell; the will has complex clauses (bequests, worship property, estate administrator). Notarization fees for wills are set at a low fixed level under Circular 257/2016/TT-BTC — not asset-based like transfer contracts — modest compared with the legal security gained.
4. Oral wills — don’t confuse them with handwritten ones
Many confuse the two. An oral will is allowed only when the person’s life is threatened by death and a written will is impossible (Article 629(1)). The conditions are far stricter: at least two witnesses, who must immediately write down, sign or fingerprint the record; within five working days the witnesses’ signatures must be notarized or certified (Article 630(5)); and three months after an oral will, if the testator is still alive and of sound mind, it is automatically revoked (Article 629(2)). It is an emergency measure, not a routine choice.
Frequently asked questions
1. Must a handwritten will have a photo or fingerprint?
Not mandatory. The law requires only the testator’s signature (or fingerprint). A fingerprint alongside the signature does strengthen evidence, especially where signature forgery might be alleged.
2. I typed my will on a computer, printed and signed it — is that “handwritten”?
No — that is no longer a “self-written” will under Article 633. A printed will counts as a typed will; to be valid it needs at least two eligible witnesses under Article 634 (signing/fingerprinting before them). If you want simplicity, write it out fully by hand.
3. Is a handwritten will from 2010 still valid?
Yes, if it met the legal conditions in force when made and was never replaced or revoked. A will takes effect from the opening of succession (Article 643(1)) — it does not “expire” by year. But if you later made a newer will covering the same assets, the newest one prevails.
This article has been quality-reviewed by the FLAW AI Legal Council