The self-proving affidavit squares off this inconvenience. One way to make sure the will is valid is to have the judge bring both witnesses into court and ask in official legal language whether the signatures are genuine, and whether they believe the testator was mentally coherent and not under duress. And, of course, by the time this is relevant, you won’t be around and can’t confirm it personally. Your witnesses’ job is to confirm that you signed this will and were of sound mind. “In every state, in order for a will to be considered valid by probate court, it needs to be signed by witnesses,” says Dave Fagundes, Baker Botts LLP Professor of Law at the University of Houston Law Center. How Can a Self-Proving Affidavit Help You ‘Prove’ Your Will? So, this is a supplemental document that you can sign in addition to your will-its sole purpose is to make your will easier to “prove” down the line. Note that in most states (except Louisiana) you don’t need a self-proving affidavit in order to make your will legally binding (remember what we said about just printing and signing in front of two witnesses?). Often, the self-proving affidavit is only about a page long.
Generally speaking, your self-proving affidavit must be notarized, meaning you and the witnesses sign it in front of a notary public. This part of the process involves a document called a “self-proving affidavit,” and fortunately, it’s easy to add to your will.Ī self-proving affidavit is a document, signed by you and two witnesses, that verifies under oath that your witnesses saw you sign your will and that it’s legally valid. Although this step is (usually) optional, it could make carrying out your will significantly easier on your loved ones down the road.
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