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No, in Washington, you do not need to notarize your will to make it legal. However, Washington allows you to make your will "self-proving" and you'll need to go to a notary if you want to do that. A self-proving will speeds up probate because the court can accept the will without contacting the witnesses who signed it.

I, [testator], a resident of the City of [City] County of [county], State of [state], declare that this is the codicil to my last will and testament, which is dated [date original signed]. I add or change said last will in the following manner: [List with particularity all changes to the will.

Any person who has the custody or control of an original Will after the testator has died must file the Will within 40 days at the Clerk's Office of the Superior Court of the resident's county at death. The fee to file a Will is $20. Wills that are filed after the death of a testator are public record.

There are two basic ways to change a will: (1) by writing a new Will; or (2) by amending a current Will with a codicil. Creating a new Will has become the preferred way to change an estate plan. However, creating a new Will without regard to the old one makes the Will vulnerable to court challenges.

A will can be handwritten (known as a ?holographic will?) as long as it meets the requirements outlined above. Oral wills, also known as ?nuncupative wills,? are not valid in Washington, except under very specific circumstances for servicemembers of the Armed Forces or Merchant Marine.

In Washington, a codicil is simply an amendment to a will. If you need to make changes to your will, you can either redo the entire will, or if it is only a minor change, you can do it by codicil. With a codicil you usually revoke a paragraph and replace it with a new paragraph.