Sometimes a simple handwritten letter written to another family member will count as a holographic will if the deceased had signed and dated it. Most states don t allow these kind of wills, however, so it is important to know what the state where you live, or more importantly, the state you will die in, requires for a will to be valid. A will won t be accepted as valid unless it meets all requirements. All wills must be in writing. Photographs or video tapes are not considered writing and are not valid as wills.
Any language is valid.
The will must contain the signature of the testator to be valid. It does not matter if the signature is not legible, or even spelled correctly. So, an X or a dot or even a line would be valid as long as the testator meant it as their signature. Normally the signature should be at the end of the will, but some states will allow it to be anywhere in the will. Most states require that the signature of the testator be witnessed by at least two witnesses.