Under Section 9 of the Wills Act 1837, a Will is required to be signed by the person making the Will, in the physical presence of two – or more – witnesses. Currently, it cannot be done via video-link, although you can read about the expected changes to the law relating to this in our local solicitors for Wills’ blog, here. Find about more about exactly how a Will must be signed, and who can act as your witnesses, here. 

Well, due to the likely increase in the number of DIY Wills made during COVID-19, and the simple fact that many people are not aware of how to correctly sign or draft a Will (which is to be expected, if you are not an expert in Will drafting), our team of Probate experts would expect to receive an increased number of enquiries about invalid Wills and making a claim against an Estate over the coming years. 

 

Our Lorraine Gill comments that many people who are drafting their Will without the assistance of an expert Will drafter would not realise that the two witnesses need to be physically present when they actually sign their own Will. If a Will is ever called into question, the witnesses may be called upon to confirm that they were present when the Will was signed by the Testator (the person making the Will). If they were not, it could be that the Will is held to be invalid. 

If the Court held that a Will was invalid, it would mean that the person dies ‘intestate’ as if they do not have a valid Will. This will mean that their Estate would pass under the Rules of Intestacy. You can read more about the Rules in our Probate Solicitors in Preston’s blog, here. 

 

Quite often, people will make provisions in their Will for a person who would not ordinarily benefit under the Rules of Intestacy. This could be a simple gift of a personal possession, a gift of money or a share of their whole Estate; if the person dies ‘intestate’ due to their Will being invalid, this gift would not take effect. 

The best way to prevent any issues with your Will in the future is to seek expert advice and assistance with drafting your Will. This is where our expert Will Solicitors in Preston can step in and help. 

 

We offer expert Will drafting for a fixed fee of £110.00 plus VAT for a single Will and £195.00 plus VAT for mirror Wills. 

 

To instruct our expert team of Wills, Trusts, Tax and Probate Solicitors in Preston, contact the team online, here, or email wills@mglegal.co.uk. 

 

If you are closer to our Lancaster office, you can contact our team of Will Solicitors in Lancaster online, here, or by popping into the office.