Attestation is all about the correct signing and witnessing of your Will (and or other documents). It is the final step, which makes the document(s) legally valid and binding. A well-written and well-meaning Will is all well and good, but it has no standing at all until attested.

Although it is the final step, it is just as important as that which has gone before. If this process is incorrectly undertaken it can invalidate the Will or certain circumstances, lead to it being challenged.

Two people who must be with you when you sign must witness your signature.

Regarding the status of the witnesses, here there are would you believe some differing opinions, although it is accepted for certain that witnesses must not be potential beneficiaries or be married to potential beneficiaries of your Will. Nobody who may benefit from your Will in any way can be allowed to act as a witness, if this happens they will lose any legacy or benefit, with same returning to the remaining estate. It is also accepted that anyone who may ultimately be instructed to administer your estate and gain financially from so doing, such as a solicitor or accountant should not act as a witness and in some quarters including ourselves, this stance is expanded to include potential Executors of any status.

In view of the above, we recommend only totally independent witnesses, those with no potential self interest or relationship with anyone who may have such an interest or with potential to beactively related to the execution of the will at all. Neighbours or workmates will usually accommodate such a request and feel appreciated that you asked them; indeed they may well ask you to reciprocate sometime. Just keep in mind that your witnesses must be UK citizens and over the age of 18, sober and of sound mind too!

Remember, witnesses are only confirming it is your signature on the document, although they should be confident that you are sober, of sound mind and that you know what the document is you are signing and that you are doing so of your own free will, they do not need to know what is in your Will.

Your signature should be your normal one and it is wise for the date of signing to be written in full i.e.. Second of February Two thousand and six. Whilst 2^nd February 2006 is also fine 2.2.06 is discouraged.The reason is in case it might be beneficial to someone to change the date, it is easier to alter numbers than words. 

NB. Should a testator be blind or infirm, special arrangements and additional instructions would be required, please contact us for more information.

Safe Custody of your Will - If a Will is lost or destroyed it is deemed never to have existed, copies are not acceptable.

If you’re like me and have a tendency to put important items away in a safe place, so safe you can’t remember where you put them! Or you are unfortunate enough to experience one of the 30.000 or so house fires in the UK each year. Either event could mean your executors being unable to find your Will or other important papers. If your Will is destroyed by either fire or water or simply lost you will be deemed to have died intestate, even though you took the time and trouble to have your Will professionally drafted. The reason being is that the courts will only accept the original document.

In such circumstances, even though you have invested time and effort to address your estate planning requirements you would die intestate, a situation you have acted to avoid. So it does make sense to take every precaution to safeguard your document(s).

Some people opt to deposit their Will with their bank, this may not be the best action as Executors may have trouble accessing it. As the bank would be correct to refuse access until the Executor can prove they have been approved by the court, a sort of Catch 22 situation, as the Executor can not obtain The Grant (see Probate page) without the Will so they would have to first go through the hassle of obtaining letters of administration and then apply for The Grant afterwards, an situation Executors find exasperating especially at such a sensitive time.     

As referred to in previous pages, an observation made all too often by executors (even if they be a spouse), is the difficulty experienced in discovering what a deceased owned, from credit cards, to lump sum investments, bank accounts to magazine subscriptions; business interests to internet passwords, etc. etc.

Also, they are often left wandering who the deceased wanted and who needed to be informed of their demise, what funeral arrangements, memorials, even pallbearers they would like. Our Private Personal Inventory Guide service (PPIG) is designed to address these issues and more, being both comprehensive and flexible and incorporating as it does a regular updating service.