At JPC Law we stress the importance of clients coming to our offices to sign their wills. It is not uncommon for mistakes to occur in executing a will and a will that is not signed, dated and witnessed according to the rules will not be valid.
A recent Court of Appeal decision held that a mirror will signed by the wrong spouse was invalid. The will did not meet the requirements for formal validity under section 9 of the Wills Act 1837 because the testator did not intend to give effect to the will that he signed and it was questionable whether the will was signed by the testator at all, since it was his wife’s will.
We ask that clients appreciate the importance of executing wills correctly and the need for us to supervise and check such execution. We will ensure that the signing of your will is witnessed by two individuals who will be in the room at the time of signing and we will ensure the will is dated and executed correctly.
By coming to the offices and executing your will in the presence of your solicitor, you will be ensuring that your will is legally valid and therefore minimising any risk of the will being questioned at a later date.
We understand that it is not always easy to find time to come in to sign documents so please bear with us if we insist that the execution of your will is carried out at our offices.
GeoffreyDitz
Partner
