What it means
This is the section that decides whether a will is valid at all. A Florida will must be in writing and signed by the testator at the end — or signed in the testator's name, in their presence and at their direction, by someone else. The testator must then sign or acknowledge that signature in the presence of at least two attesting witnesses, and those two witnesses must sign in the presence of the testator and of each other.
Florida does not recognize handwritten (holographic) or oral (nuncupative) wills. A nonresident's will is valid here if it was valid where signed, and a codicil must be executed with the same formalities as the will itself.
- The will must be in writing and signed by the testator at the end (or signed for them, in their presence, at their direction).
- The testator signs or acknowledges the signature before at least two attesting witnesses.
- Both witnesses must sign in the presence of the testator and of each other.
- Florida does not recognize holographic or nuncupative (oral) wills.
- A nonresident's will is valid in Florida if it was valid where it was executed.
- A codicil must meet the same formalities as a will.
How it plays out
Nearly every will contest we defend or bring starts here, at the formalities. The failures are almost always the same handful: a witness who stepped out of the room, a signature that wasn't really 'at the end,' a handwritten note the decedent thought was a codicil. Florida's two-witness rule is strict and mechanical — good intentions don't cure a signing done wrong. We supervise executions personally and pair them with a self-proving affidavit (§732.503), because a will that satisfies §732.502 cleanly is a will that rarely gets litigated on execution.
Where this shows up
Pages on this site where § 732.502 does real work: