Difference between revisions of "Making and Executing a Will (16:III)"

The will-maker need not sign the will him or herself. Section 1(1) and (2) of WESA provides that the will-maker’s signature includes “a signature made by another person in the will-maker's presence and by the will-maker's direction.” Where someone else signs on behalf of the will-maker, there must be some act or word by the will-maker constituting a direction or request. When someone else signs, that person may sign in either the will-maker’s name or his or her own name, but this circumstance should be noted in the attestation clause (''Re: Fiszhaut Estate'', (1966) 55 WWR 303 (BCSC)). If this issue should arise, there must be further review to ensure the signature’s legal validity.  

==== b) Posititon of SIgnature ====

Section 37(1)(b) of WESA requires the signature be at the end of the will. Section 39 defines when a will is deemed to be signed at the end and provides that a disposition made below or after the signature is of no effect. Case law has taken a liberal view of these requirements, finding a signature not at the end to have been intended to be at the end (''In the Goods of Henry Hornby'', [1946] All ER 150 and ''Currie v Potter'' [1981] 6 WWR 377 (Man QB)) and finding a disposition after the signature to have been intended to precede the signature (''Palin v Ponting'', [1930] para 185, considered in ''Beniston Estate v Shepherd'', (1996) 16 ETR (2d) 71 (BCSC)). However, to ensure the validity of the will and all dispositions, the will should be signed at its end, after all dispositions. When a will is more than one page, it should be signed at the end of the last page and there should be a portion of the will on the last page. The last page of the will should indicate the will-maker is signing this page as the last of all the pages constituting the will. Although not required, the will-maker and witnesses should initial the other pages of the will.

The will-maker must make or acknowledge the signature in the joint presence of two attesting witnesses present when the will is signed (WESA, s 37) A beneficiary of the will should never witness the will, as it may void the gift they receive through the will (WESA, s 40 & s 43).  It will be sufficient if the will-maker has made his or her signature in the joint presence of the witnesses. If he or she has not, the will-maker must acknowledge the signature in the witnesses’ presence, as it becomes a question of fact that witnesses must have actually seen or been able to see the signature when the Will-maker acknowledged it (see ''Re Schafner'', (1956) 2 DLR (2d) 593 (NSSC)).  

Both witnesses must also attest after the will-maker makes or acknowledges his or her signature in their joint presence. Though they need not sign in each other’s presence, they must each sign in the presence of the will-maker who must actually see or be able to see the witnesses sign (WESA, s 37(1)(c)). Attesting witnesses must be able to confirm the will-maker’s execution of the will; they do not need to be aware of the contents of the will.

Any person 19 years of age or older may be a witness (WESA s 40(1)).  

A will is not invalid if the only reason is a witness is legally incapable of proving the will either at the time the will was signed by the will-maker or afterwards. However, if the witness is not 19 years old or older at the time the will was signed by the will-maker, then the will is invalid.  

Section 43 of WESA provides that a gift to a witness, or the spouse of a witness, to a testamentary document is void. Section 43(3) of WESA explicitly provides that, even if such a gift is void, this has no effect on the validity of the remainder of the Will.  

There is one exception to this rule.  Section 43(4) of WESA provides that, if the court is satisfied that the will-maker intended to make the gift to the person, the gift to the witness will not be void.