What if a will is not properly witnessed?

nuac said:

Bronte I do not believe that any solicitor would leave it until the following day to have the second witness sign a will.

Apart from such a behaviour being contrary to law, the solicitor would expose him(her)self to an action from disappointed beneficiaries.

Even if the valdity or tems of a will were not being contested in many cases the Probate Registrar asks for an affidavit of due execution from the witnesses. A lie in an affidavit is perjury.

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Personally i have little fate in this particular Solicitor. I fairly sure if i got a copy of will now it could be easily proved that it was not withnessed by 2 people in the room at that present time when father signed. (father is still alive and knews how many people in room at that time)

My father used this solictor around the same time my mothers estate was distributed.
When my mother passed away with no will- This solictor dealt with the distribution under succession act which is fine, you break up 2/3 husband and 1/3 kids- He only counted the money that he got from the banks( no account of money that was sent direct to my father from some banks/ insurance policies companies) I dont have a legal background but i would have taugh you would could everything in a distribution. I got my share and signed cheque and returned it to my father but i dont think other siblings were aware they were under paid in distribution.

I'm pretty sure that things like insurance are payable to a nominated person, and don't make up part of the dead persons estate, so it sounds like everything is OK.

To be honest, everything else aside, so long as the will does what your father wants to happen when he dies you could just let things go unless you plan to contest it in the future to force an intestacy situation.

If you're very unhappy talk to your father and offer to pay for him to make a new will with a different solicitor that he doesn't know so everything will be above board.

The dad of a friend of mine has lost capacity and his mom is deceased.

Recently, he looked at his dad's will and noticed, much like what may have happened in this thread, that there was somehow only one witness. Lots of inter-related questions arise.

Legally, can the terms of the will be followed by the Executor or not? Does the Executor have a duty of disclosure re insufficient witnesses? If challenged, would the will then be deemed invalid? Is this invalidation automatic or is there a process? (I'd prefer not to spell out precise circumstances to protect confidentiality - arguably not relevant to understanding the general legal points in any event).

Also, presumably, since his dad has lost mental capacity - there is nothing that can be done to amend the will at this stage?

On a professional basis, there is nothing that can be done. The will is invalid, nothing can fix it, and, on the death, the rules of intestacy will direct where the estate is to go, which may or may not be in accordance with the deceased's intentions.

On a practical basis and completely off the record, without prejudice, subject to contract and contract denied- you get the drift..............

If the dad can still write his name, has his own solicitor................
Or
If the original will came to me, on a professional basis, with two signatures, how am I to know when the two signatures were endorsed?

mf

MF,

Thanks and wow. Appreciated.