Page 10 - Town & Around - February 2025
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10 Town & Around February 2025 Tel: 01485 540620 email: editor@townandaround.net
Ensuring your will is validly signed and witnessed
By Jennifer Taylor, Associate Solicitor, Hayes + Storr
reating a will is crucial to ensuring Role and responsibilities
your assets are distributed according to of witnesses
Cyour wishes. However, even small Witnesses play a vital role in validating a
errors in signing and witnessing can render a will. Their role is to verify that the testator is
will invalid, as illustrated by the following the person signing, that their signature is not
example: forged, and that no coercion is involved in
David used a DIY will kit to prepare his signing the will.
will and had two neighbours act as witnesses. If a dispute arises during the administration
He outlined how he wanted his assets to be of the testator’s estate, the witnesses may later
distributed among his children and a charity need to provide evidence if disputes arise
he supported. Unfortunately, he signed the about the will’s execution or the testator’s
will alone and later collected the witnesses’ capacity.
signatures separately, which invalidated the
document. As a result, his estate was Consequences of
distributed according to the rules of intestacy. Improper Execution
This meant that the charity received nothing, must then sign in the testator’s presence. An improperly executed will can result in
and David's assets were divided among his Witnesses must be physically present with your estate being distributed according to the
closest relatives, which was not his intention. the testator at the time of signing. Remote rules of intestacy or under the terms of a
witnessing, introduced temporarily during the previous will, which is unlikely to reflect your
Key Legal Requirements for COVID-19 pandemic, ended in January 2022. wishes. This can lead to disputes among
Signing a Will Wills executed via video conferencing during potential beneficiaries, resulting in costly and
The Wills Act 1837 governs the formalities this period remain valid but may benefit from prolonged legal battles.
of creating a valid will. To ensure compliance, being re-signed in person for certainty.
the following procedure should be adhered to: How Professional Advice Helps
Writing and Signature: The will must be The importance of impartiality Seeking expert guidance ensures your will
written and must be signed by the testator (i.e. Witnesses must be impartial, and should not adheres to legal standards and reflects your
the person making the will). The testator must be beneficiaries, or closely related to intentions. Professional advice reduces the
also intend by their signature to give effect to beneficiaries. If a beneficiary or someone risk of errors and disputes, safeguarding your
the will. closely related to a beneficiary serves as a estate for your intended beneficiaries. For
Witnessing: Two independent witnesses witness, this could result in the beneficiary more information on making a will, contact
must observe the testator signing the will and losing their entitlement under the will, Jennifer Taylor on 01328 863231 or email
acknowledge their signature. Both witnesses although the will itself may remain valid. Jennifer.taylor@hayes-storr.com.