Forms for Planning Your Estate in District of Columbia

In District of Columbia, a will is signed before 2 witnesses, and the witnesses sign an affidavit at probate instead of a self-proving affidavit.

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8 forms for District of Columbia

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Revocable Living Trust

Create a revocable living trust to avoid probate, protect privacy, and control asset distribution.

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Free

Last Will and Testament

In District of Columbia, a will is signed before 2 witnesses, and the witnesses sign an affidavit at probate instead of a self-proving affidavit.

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Free

Pour-Over Will

In District of Columbia, a pour-over will is signed before 2 witnesses and moves anything left outside the trust into it through probate.

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Free

Healthcare Power of Attorney

District of Columbia requires 2 witnesses for a healthcare power of attorney; notarization is not required.

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Free

Financial Power of Attorney

District of Columbia treats a power of attorney as durable by default, and it is signed before a notary.

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Free

Transfer on Death Deed

In District of Columbia, a transfer on death deed is signed before a notary, then recorded with the county before the owner's death.

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Free

Vehicle Transfer on Death

Name a beneficiary to inherit your vehicle at death without probate. Available in 26 states and the District of Columbia.

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Free

Living Will

In District of Columbia, the living will is the Declaration, a document of its own, apart from the healthcare power of attorney.

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District of Columbia requires 2 witnesses present when the testator signs. A gift to a witness who is also a beneficiary can be voided or reduced in District of Columbia, so the usual practice is disinterested witnesses.

No. District of Columbia does not recognize holographic (handwritten) wills. A will must be typed or printed and signed with the formalities District of Columbia requires; a District of Columbia probate court will not accept an unwitnessed handwritten document.

District of Columbia requires 2 witnesses, each at least 18 years old and present when you sign, and your healthcare provider cannot serve as one. At least one witness must be unrelated to you.

Yes. District of Columbia requires a notary acknowledgment on a financial power of attorney. A power of attorney used for real estate is recorded with the county where the property sits.

District of Columbia prescribes no form. The deed must state that the transfer to the designated beneficiary is to occur at the transferor's death.

Forms for Planning Your Estate in District of Columbia

A complete estate plan is a small set of documents, each with its own job. A last will names who inherits, names an executor, and names a guardian for minor children, and it takes effect only after death and through probate. A revocable living trust holds property during life and passes it at death without a court process; a pour-over will sits beside it to catch anything left outside the trust. A financial power of attorney and a healthcare power of attorney name who acts if you cannot, and they end at death. A transfer on death deed, in the states that allow one, passes a home to a named beneficiary outside probate.

A healthcare power of attorney in District of Columbia is signed before 2 witnesses; notarization is not required. In District of Columbia, probate on a $500,000 estate costs about $26,493, and a simple estate closes in 6 months to 12 months. District of Columbia levies an estate tax above $4,988,400 and no inheritance tax.

SimplyTrust Editorial·Updated October 15, 2026

Legal Sources

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D.C. Code 19-604.16
DC Code § 21-2207

Data sourced from District of Columbia statutes and official state code. How we research.