Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Pennsylvania

1. Having beneficiaries serve as witnesses is a bad idea.

2. To be valid all the will needs is the signature of the testator (the person who is making the will) Witnesses and notarizations are NOT required. That said you will have a lot easier time probating the will if there are 2 witnesses who aren't beneficiaries. It's called a self proving will.

{John}

NO! Beneficiaries under the will CANNOT be witnesses!

As noted by Attorney Davidson, wills don't have to be notarized to be valid. However, that means if the signatures are not witnessed notarized then the witnesses are going to have to come and testify when the will is submitted for probate.

People move or die and if you can't produce the witnesses this can be problematic.

To avoid this problem wills done by attorneys are self-proving, i.e., the signatures of the testator and witnesses are notarized. While you only need 2 witnesses, some states require 3. Its a good idea to have a spare witness as well. To make sure the will is good everywhere, I recommend that you and at least 2 if not 3 witnesses all go to the notary's office together and sign the will in front of each other and the notary so there is never any question.

Better yet, get a lawyer to draft the will properly and oversee its execution (signing). If this is not done correctly, the will is going to be declared invalid and the person will be deemed to have died as if no will ever existed. In such case, your assets would pass as per state intestacy law, not as you intended.

Do not be let your legacy be a lawsuit. The few bucks you save on a lawyer and a notary now may end up costing your loved ones a lot more in legal fees if you did decided to do your own will and make up your own requirements regarding signing and witnessing.