How to go about making a will at the moment 29 March 2020 at 6:39PM in Coronavirus Support and Help 3 replies 222 views

bazdog

Me and DH have not updated our wills since moving just over a year ago.  Now we really feel we should just to be on the safe side.  We own our house outright and have no children so want the proceeds of the sale of the house to go to specific people and charities.  Also we have a dog and want him to go to a friend.

We can't afford to go to a solicitor (even if any are working) so I wondered if there is an online will we could both do?  Also how can we get someone to witness our signing them?  We were self isolating before being told to as DH has diabetes and had a heart attack a few years ago.  My health is not to bad but I do tend to get chest infections fairly easily and had the flu about 5 years ago which completely floored me for over 2 months.

DH suggested us setting up skype with my sister and signing the wills with her watching.  Then sending them to her in the post for her to sign.  She doesn't live close to us.  
Any ideas?

Savvy_Sue

I'd phone round a few solicitors, I know some are witnessing signatures through a car window etc. They would confirm or deny whether or not a signature witnessed on Skype, as you describe, would be valid, but it's not clear to me that it would be. But then, IANAL ... 

p00hsticks

I'm not sure Skype would count - I wouldn't chance it.  And I suspect that a timelag of days between the actual witnessing and the signing might also be problematical.

Also you need two separate witnesses (that aren't going to be beneficiaries or their spouses). 

I suggested on another thread that if you know your neighbours you could perhaps do it over the garden fence (in fact, itv news just now has shown a solicitor and aide witnessing a will being signed by someone inside an open window - the will was then passed outside, put on the ground and each individual witness in turn went up to sign it. )

Jeremy535897

See Law Society article
https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/coronavirus-talks-ongoing-over-wills-witness-requirements/5103625.article