Who can be the witnesses?
A witness to a Will should be:
An adult, i.e. at least 18 years of age
Entirely independent of the person making the Will
Not be any person named in the Will.
The witnesses do not have to be independent of each other but they should be independent of you as the person signing the Will. So, for example, you can ask a married couple to both witness your Will, but must not ask your own husband/ wife/ civil partner to witness your Will.
It is important that neither of the people witnessing your signature of your Will, nor their spouse or civil partner, receive any sort of benefit under your Will.
However, if your witnesses are professional Trustees or Executors, and are charging for their services, then this restriction does not apply to their professional charges.
The witnesses must also understand what it is they are witnessing. This means that they need to understand that they are witnessing your signature on a document. It doesn’t mean that they need to know the contents of the Will.
If at a later date the signing of your Will is called into question, the witnesses may be asked about it, and will need to be capable of giving evidence in relation to it. So you need to be sure that those you do ask have sufficient mental capacity to understand what they are doing.
A blind person cannot be a witness to a Will.
How many can witness?
In England and Wales you must sign your Will in the presence of at least two witnesses, both of whom are present to witness it at the same time.
Witnesses and Executors
The Executors of your Will can also be the witnesses to your Will, so long as they satisfy the criteria above. However, this is not advisable or considered best practice.
Witnesses and beneficiaries
If you ask a beneficiary of your Will to also be a witness to it, then any gift you may have made in your Will to them will most likely fail. This will have no bearing on the validity of the rest of your Will.
The general rule and best practice position is that beneficiaries shouldn’t also be witnesses. But there are some exceptions:
If the witness is a professional Trustee or Executor who benefits from a professional charging clause in the Will. However, the definition of professional Trustee is rather narrow and it is generally better to avoid asking Trustees and Executors (and their spouses and civil partners) to be witnesses.
If, after the Will is executed, the witness marries or forms a civil partnership with someone who benefits under the Will, the gift left to the beneficiary under the Will remains valid.
If the Will is a privileged Will.