遺囑，除經公證、密封或口授等特殊形式外，可區分為「自書遺囑」與「代筆遺囑」兩大類。
所謂「代筆遺囑」，乃遺囑人口述，由見證人筆記並經一定程序而成立之遺囑，民法第1194條訂有明文。由於「筆記」乃是紀錄的方式之一，並非惟一方式，在現代社會電腦發達，電腦打字亦屬常見的紀錄方式，因此目前我國最高法院已認可電腦打字作為代筆遺囑的紀錄方式 (最高法院86年台上自432號判決)。
至於「自書遺囑」部分，因民法第1190條規定: 「自書遺囑者，應『自書』遺囑全文。」因此，「自行書寫」乃法定之成立要件，若以打字等方式為之，則遺囑將因要件不具備而無法成立。民眾對此不可不慎!
Wills, except for special forms such as notarized, sealed or dictated, can be divided into two categories: “holograph wills” and “dictated wills”.
A will made by dictation is when a testator (the person making the will) speaks out the contents, and a witness writes them down following specific legal procedures. Article 1194 of the Civil Code govern this. Since “writing down” is just one way of recording, and not the only one, the Supreme Court has ruled that computer-typed text is acceptable for this kind of will (Supreme Court Judgement No. 432, Year 1997).
However, when it comes to a holograph will, Article 1190 of the Civil Code clearly states that the will must be entirely handwritten by the testator – it is not legally valid as a holograph will. This is an important detail that people should be very careful about!