Q: Do the two signatures on a will have to be verified?
My husband died recently and named me Executrix of his Last Will and Testament. The will was made in 1974 in New York and signed by my husband, our attorney and an employee. I am told that the signatures need to be verified. Our attorney is deceased and there is no one to verify his signature. Does the will have any value?
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A:
I'm sorry for your loss. In New York, for a will to be valid, it must be executed in compliance with New York Estates, Powers & Trusts Law (EPTL) § 3-2.1. This includes being signed by the testator (your husband) in the presence of at least two witnesses who also sign the will. If the will is not "self-proving," meaning the witnesses did not sign a separate affidavit at the time of execution, their signatures may need to be verified during probate.
In your case, if the witnesses to the will are unavailable, you may need to establish the validity of the will through a process called "proof of handwriting" under Surrogate's Court Procedure Act (SCPA) § 1405. This involves submitting affidavits from individuals familiar with the deceased witnesses' signatures or other evidence of authenticity. If successful, the will can still be probated.
If the will cannot be admitted to probate due to difficulties in verifying the signatures, the estate may be distributed under New York's intestacy laws as a backup. According to EPTL § 4-1.1, as the surviving spouse, you would typically inherit the first $50,000 of the estate plus half of the remaining balance, with the other half going to any children. If there are no children, you would inherit the entire estate.
Consider hiring an attorney to assist you with this case.
Tim Akpinar agrees with this answer
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