... or other visual link will come into effect. Importantly, the legislation will have retrospective effect, so Wills witnessed by video link and made from 31 January 2020 will be legal.
or other visual link will come into effect. Importantly, the legislation will have retrospective effect, so Wills witnessed by video link and made from 31 January 2020 will be legal.
This change is not without its challenges as the risk of not witnessing a Will correctly is to make an invalid Will. Be aware of the following:
This is a temporary amendment to the Wills Act 1837 and will apply to Wills made up until 31 January 2022. Any Will (which has not already been admitted to probate), made in this way since 31 January 2020 will be valid if compliant with the legislation.
It is likely to be more difficult to prove the validity of a Will if the witnessing has not been done correctly and the detailed list above indicates the many ways in which witnessing could go wrong, potentially also leading to an increase in challenges to Wills made by video link by opportunistic beneficiaries.
Our advice is to only use this newly permitted method of signing and witnessing your Will as a last resort and after having received detailed professional advice on how to comply with the new procedure. Wherever possible it is preferable to witness your will either in the presence of a qualified practitioner with the appropriate social distancing in place or with them overseeing the process by video link on a separate screen.