Watchtower/Law library/Wills Act 1837/9 Signing and attestation of wills
As last captured

Wills Act 1837 ·

9 Signing and attestation of wills

s. 9 · in force: yes

Captured statutory text (L5)

9 Signing and attestation of wills

(1)No will shall be valid unless—
(a)it is in writing, and signed by the testator, or by some other person in his presence and by his direction; and
(b)it appears that the testator intended by his signature to give effect to the will; and
(c)the signature is made or acknowledged by the testator in the presence of two or more witnesses present at the same time; and
(d)each witness either—
(i)attests and signs the will; or
(ii)acknowledges his signature,
in the presence of the testator (but not necessarily in the presence of any other witness),
but no form of attestation shall be necessary.
(2)For the purposes of paragraphs (c) and (d) of subsection (1), in relation to wills made on or after 31 January 2020 and on or before 31 January 2024, “presence” includes presence by means of videoconference or other visual transmission.
Full captured verbatim text
(1) No will shall be valid unless—

(a) it is in writing, and signed by the testator, or by some other person in his presence and by his direction; and

(b) it appears that the testator intended by his signature to give effect to the will; and

(c) the signature is made or acknowledged by the testator in the presence of two or more witnesses present at the same time; and

(d) each witness either—

(i) attests and signs the will; or

(ii) acknowledges his signature,

in the presence of the testator (but not necessarily in the presence of any other witness),

but no form of attestation shall be necessary.

(2) For the purposes of paragraphs (c) and (d) of subsection (1), in relation to wills made on or after 31 January 2020 and on or before 31 January 2024, “presence” includes presence by means of videoconference or other visual transmission.

What this provision means

Model summary, checked against the text on the left.

Relevance to Signicat: 3/3 · detailed summary (L4) Status: not needed for a short provision · Stored artifact; current recipe verification unavailable

Testators and attesting witnesses must sign or acknowledge wills in writing, permitting videoconference presence for specified dates.

Only the one-line summary above is stored for this provision; the text itself is the evidence.

Refers to

No captured references.

Referred to by

No captured references.

Part summaries

0 of 0 parts have a verified summary.

L1 unavailable for current verification: the overall summary needs every part verified. Provisions and the verified summaries remain readable.

Verification findings (43)

synthesis coverage: missing/unverified L2 main

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:ukpga/Will4and1Vict/7/26#section-1

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:ukpga/Will4and1Vict/7/26#section-2

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:ukpga/Will4and1Vict/7/26#section-3

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:ukpga/Will4and1Vict/7/26#section-46

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:ukpga/Will4and1Vict/7/26#section-7

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:ukpga/Will4and1Vict/7/26#section-8

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:ukpga/Will4and1Vict/7/26#section-9

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:ukpga/Will4and1Vict/7/26#section-10

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:ukpga/Will4and1Vict/7/26#section-11

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:ukpga/Will4and1Vict/7/26#section-12

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:ukpga/Will4and1Vict/7/26#section-13

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:ukpga/Will4and1Vict/7/26#section-14

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:ukpga/Will4and1Vict/7/26#section-15

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:ukpga/Will4and1Vict/7/26#section-16

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:ukpga/Will4and1Vict/7/26#section-17

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:ukpga/Will4and1Vict/7/26#section-18

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:ukpga/Will4and1Vict/7/26#section-18A

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:ukpga/Will4and1Vict/7/26#section-18B

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:ukpga/Will4and1Vict/7/26#section-18C

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:ukpga/Will4and1Vict/7/26#section-18D

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:ukpga/Will4and1Vict/7/26#section-18E

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:ukpga/Will4and1Vict/7/26#section-19

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:ukpga/Will4and1Vict/7/26#section-20

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:ukpga/Will4and1Vict/7/26#section-21

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:ukpga/Will4and1Vict/7/26#section-22

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:ukpga/Will4and1Vict/7/26#section-23

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:ukpga/Will4and1Vict/7/26#section-24

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:ukpga/Will4and1Vict/7/26#section-25

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:ukpga/Will4and1Vict/7/26#section-26

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:ukpga/Will4and1Vict/7/26#section-27

synthesis coverage: missing/unverified L2 main

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:ukpga/Will4and1Vict/7/26#section-28

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:ukpga/Will4and1Vict/7/26#section-29

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:ukpga/Will4and1Vict/7/26#section-30

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:ukpga/Will4and1Vict/7/26#section-31

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:ukpga/Will4and1Vict/7/26#section-32

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:ukpga/Will4and1Vict/7/26#section-33

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:ukpga/Will4and1Vict/7/26#section-33A

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:ukpga/Will4and1Vict/7/26#section-34

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:ukpga/Will4and1Vict/7/26#section-35

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:ukpga/Will4and1Vict/7/26#section-36

Instrument tier unavailable

Change history as published

S. 2 repealed by Statute Law Revision Act 1874 (c. 35)

Ss. 4–6, 8 repealed by Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1969 (c. 52), Sch. Pt. III · repeated 2×

S. 12 repealed by Admiralty, &c. Acts Repeal Act 1865 (c. 112), Sch.

S. 32 repealed (1.1.1997) by 1996 c.47, s. 25(2), Sch. 4 (with ss. 24(2),25(4)); S.I. 1996/2974, art. 2

S. 36 repealed by Statute Law Revision Act 1874 (c. 35)

Pending effects amendments not yet applied to this text

s. 18A(1) amended (EW) (prosp.) by Family Law Act 1996 s. 66(1) Sch. 8 Pt. 1 para. 1 · Effective date unknown · s. 18A

Provenance

Every claim the system makes about this text is traceable to these identifiers.

Instrument
uk:ukpga/Will4and1Vict/7/26
Part
Version
797b0714c49ed32e3abdebf3…
Content hash
sha256 a4a83a492734786fd2792641…
Source
legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Will4and1Vict/7/26