The law governing the signing of Wills is set out in the Wills Act 1837. It states that a Will is only valid if signed in front of two witnesses who then also sign in the presence of the person making the Will. In light of modern technology there have been calls to amend this requirement, but video-witnessing of Wills has been resisted until the coronavirus pandemic.
Due to the difficulties of signing in presence of two witnesses while maintaining social distancing, the Ministry of Justice has introduced a change in the law that allows Wills to be signed by video link. This applies retrospectively from 31st January 2020 but is only intended to be a temporary measure until 2022. It is only to be used in emergencies and the method set out under the Wills Act should still be used where possible.
During the pandemic, at Backhouse, we have maintained our service to Clients by signing Wills in line with government guidelines. This has meant visiting Clients in their gardens, neutral venues including car parks and signing on car bonnets or, on several occasions, wheelie bins. Now we can extend that service to signing by video link where necessary.
The Backhouse Solicitors Will writing service
If you wish to make a Will at this time we offer a variety of fixed price plans – Simple, Standard and Premium – all based on your requirements. For further information please contact Colin Murphy in our Private Client Team.
