Will Witness

[wheypat]

Since my wife and I wrote our wills nothing in our personal situation has changed (i.e. we are happy with them as the stand).

But the witness' have divorced and moved away (we don't keep in touch with them) and we are about to move 300 miles away. Do we need to get them re-witnessed?

[Dod1010]

Short answer. No. Short question. Why would you?

Dod

[wheypat]

Short answer. No. Short question. Why would you?

Dod

Well, I was just worried in case there could be any issues around it, i.e. someone challenged the will and no witness could be found to say it was the last will and testament.

[didds]

If you had will #1 witnessed by A&B, then renewed your will to will#2, witnessed by C&D without A&B's knowledge, if on your death the only will found was will#1, how would A&B know that it wasn't your final will and testament anyhow? My point being whether witnesses are found or unfound, it may not be your last w&t anyway

didds

[Dod1010]

Sorry maybe I was being a little brusque but this was discussed not so long ago and it was established that the witness is simply acknowledging that they actually witnessed you physically signing the Will, nothing more, nothing less. Most unlikely that they would be ever be called upon to confirm that again, which is their sole responsibility in the matter so I would forget it.

I am no expert but nothing in the thread changed my long held understanding. (And this applies in Scots as well as English Law!)

As for didds point, the witness does not need to enquire whether this is the last Will and Testament and need not and probably will not know anything of the contents; he/she is simply witnessing your signature.

Dod

[Slarti]

Short answer. No. Short question. Why would you?

Dod

Well, I was just worried in case there could be any issues around it, i.e. someone challenged the will and no witness could be found to say it was the last will and testament.

I've been a witness to wills for a neighbour, but if anything happened to trigger the will, I would now have no way of knowing if the one I witnessed 5 years ago was the last one. All I know is that Mrs S and I watched the neighbours sign below their typed names on a particular date, with nobody else there, and that we added our details.

Then we had some nicely chilled fizz in their garden.

Slarti

[Peanutte]

When my Mother died,the solicitor handling the will realised that the date it had been signed and witnessed was 'Tuesday 4 May 19**' (or whatever). When actually the 4 May was a Wednesday. (tbh I'm surprised she even noticed - it was some years prior.)

She wrote to both witnesses, asking them if they remembered the exact date - the one who was still contactable could not remember signing and the other one had moved away.

She then referred the will to some legal body, who ruled that it was still valid. As it happened, the beneficiaries were my brother and me - which would have been the same if the will was proved not to be valid and rules of intestacy were applied.

Not sure if this adds much to the discussion - except to indicate that witnesses are sometimes contacted.

Pea.

[dionaeamuscipula]

Most unlikely that they would be ever be called upon to confirm that again, which is their sole responsibility in the matter so I would forget it.

Most unlikely but not impossible. I have been required to do exactly that, in a situation where a will was being disputed and the other witness was a passing random person that no one knew and couldn't be found. And requested to give details of the circumstances of signature and whether I felt that any coercion was being applied.

DM

[didds]

Most unlikely that they would be ever be called upon to confirm that again, which is their sole responsibility in the matter so I would forget it.

Most unlikely but not impossible. I have been required to do exactly that, in a situation where a will was being disputed and the other witness was a passing random person that no one knew and couldn't be found. And requested to give details of the circumstances of signature and whether I felt that any coercion was being applied.

DM

what's more interesting to me (i'm like that!) is what they'd have done if they couldn't contact you either.

ignore it? make a judgment based on the balance of what people thought that were looking at the potential problem?

didds

[dionaeamuscipula]

what's more interesting to me (i'm like that!) is what they'd have done if they couldn't contact you either.

ignore it? make a judgment based on the balance of what people thought that were looking at the potential problem?

didds

They didn't need to look very hard for me, not least because I had control of most of the money. I couldn't give them any information that suggested there was anything amiss with the will I had witnessed, so in the end they decided not to challenge it. I suspect the outcome may have been similar if they couldn't find me. Perhaps they would have had a go, what the deceased had told them was in it didn't match what was actually in it.

DM