'My bachelor uncle told me he would leave me his farm, and wrote a letter confirming this. But he also wrote a similar letter to my cousin. Who gets the farm?'

"'My document was signed by a neighbour - is that enough to make it a valid will?'"

"Hi Mary Frances, I'm hoping you can help me make sense of a tricky situation with my bachelor uncle's estate. A few years ago, he told me he wanted me to inherit his farm. To make it clear, he even wrote it down and had a neighbour sign it as a witness. Unfortunately, that neighbour has died since then."

A valid will normally requires the testator's signature and the prescribed number of witnesses signing in the testator's presence. A witness who later dies does not automatically invalidate a will that was properly executed at the time. The central concern is proving due execution: surviving attesting witnesses, contemporaneous evidence, or a witness’s affidavit may establish validity. Some courts can validate documents that fail formalities if testamentary intent is clear. If execution cannot be proven, re-execution or a codicil while the testator was alive would have been ideal. Seek jurisdiction-specific probate advice promptly.

Read at Independent