State estate guides › District of Columbia

Wills and estate planning in District of Columbia

Researched 2026-10-20 · confidence: high · 2026 figures

In plain words: in District of Columbia a will is valid when it's signed in front of 2 adult witnesses. There is a state estate tax. The federal estate tax exemption is $15,000,000 a person in 2026.

Witnesses to a will	2
Handwritten (holographic) will	Not recognised
Self-proving affidavit	Not available
Electronic wills	Allowed
Power of attorney	Notary · Uniform Power of Attorney Act
Health care directive	2 witnesses
State estate tax	Yes
State inheritance tax	No
Community property	No
Age of majority / UTMA age	18 / 18

Signing a will

Statute: D.C. Code § 18-103.

A gift to an attesting witness is VOID as to that witness, except they may keep up to their intestate share (D.C. Code § 18-104).

Two 'credible' witnesses must sign in the testator's presence. Never use a beneficiary as a witness. Include a full attestation clause, which serves as the self-proof for abbreviated probate (§ 20-312(b)). The Uniform Electronic Wills Act is at D.C. Code § 18-901 et seq. (D.C. Law 24-296, effective Mar 10, 2023); remote witnesses must be US-state residents (§ 18-905). Rules for spouses also apply to domestic partners. UTMA: 18 by default; 21 if the gift or will transfer specifies it under § 21-309(d) (§ 21-320).

Power of attorney

Statute: D.C. Code § 21-2601.01 et seq. (Uniform Power of Attorney Act).

Notary acknowledgment is REQUIRED for validity (§ 21-2601.05(b), added by D.C. Law 24-236, 2023). Statutory form at § 21-2603.01. Hot powers need an express grant (§ 21-2602.01).

Health care directive

Called: Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care; Declaration (Living Will).

Statute: D.C. Code § 21-2201 et seq. (health care DPOA, § 21-2205); D.C. Code § 7-621 et seq. (Natural Death Act declaration, § 7-622).

For the health care DPOA, witnesses cannot be the principal's health care provider or its employee, and at least one must be unrelated and not entitled to the estate (§ 21-2205(c)-(d)). Living will witnesses cannot be relatives, heirs or beneficiaries, anyone financially responsible for care, or the attending physician or facility staff (§ 7-622).

Two adult witnesses for each document; neither statute provides a notary alternative. A statutory health care DPOA form is in § 21-2207 (not verified in this pass). No form published by the District was located.

If there's no will: what a spouse gets

Two-thirds of the intestate estate, if the spouse has no other descendants (D.C. Code § 19-302(2)).

A spouse's right to a share

The spouse may renounce the will within 6 months of probate and take the intestate share, capped at one-half of the net estate (D.C. Code § 19-113(a), (e)).

Estate and inheritance tax

Yes. For 2026 the exclusion is $4,988,400 (the $4M 2021 base, CPI-indexed; D.C. Code §§ 47-3701, 47-3702), with rates of 11.2%-16% and no portability. The 2026 figure comes from secondary sources and was not confirmed on the OTR site.

No inheritance tax.

Probate

Moderate; abbreviated probate in the D.C. Superior Court Probate Division is common. Small-estate administration is available up to $80,000 (D.C. Code § 20-351, as amended by D.C. Law 25-302, 2025). Note that § 20-312 currently carries temporary amendments that expire Mar 27, 2027.

Money God drafts a District of Columbia will, power of attorney and health care directive from a short interview, then you send it to your attorney for review before signing.

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Sources

Researched from state statutes and official forms. Laws change; this page is information, not legal advice. Every Money God draft is reviewed by a licensed attorney in your state before you sign it.