Affivavit of Attesting Witnesses not available for an older will

[dleung65]

So the will must be examined. It doesn’t make the will invalid. It makes the process easier but it doesn’t mean your will is invalid.

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that the will might be deemed invalid. Just that it might be a hurdle for which my lawyer may have to spend extra time on. At $300/hr, proving the lawyers death and locating the mystery second signer could be costly.

 

[justalayman]

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that the will might be deemed invalid. Just that it might be a hurdle for which my lawyer may have to spend extra time on. At $300/hr, proving the lawyers death and locating the mystery second signer could be costly.

As I said earlier; given the witnessses were a local lawyer and an assistant from that office I would expect to be able to find a plethora of exemplars of the signatures.

Are you suspecting anybody to contest the validity of the will? That can make a difference as to how closely a court would scrutinize the document.

 

[Dandy Don]

Did any witness shown a residential address?

 

[dleung65]

As I said earlier; given the witnessses were a local lawyer and an assistant from that office I would expect to be able to find a plethora of exemplars of the signatures.

Are you suspecting anybody to contest the validity of the will? That can make a difference as to how closely a court would scrutinize the document.

No expectation that there will be any challenges to the will.

 

[dleung65]

Did any witness shown a residential address?

The lawyer had a home address.
The mystery signer used the office address. Not a help.

 

[Dandy Don]

If the office address is legible, you could check criss-cross city telephone directories (which can be searched by address and/or name) at the public library (for whatever years are involved) to see which companies or offices are listed at that address and that may provide clues or leads to help you find the person.

 

[HRZ]

I'm not sure why IF a will was properly done at the time it does not remain valid unless new law expressly addrsses retroactive requirements ...and it's unclear what was the law earlier or it was valid under law of times.

 

[justalayman]

I'm not sure why IF a will was properly done at the time it does not remain valid unless new law expressly addrsses retroactive requirements ...and it's unclear what was the law earlier or it was valid under law of times.

I don’t see that the will doesn’t meet current requirements

 

[dleung65]

I'm going to consult with another lawyer. I'll report back with results.
Thanks to everyone for now.

 

[dleung65]

Okay, just met with another lawyer who immediately said on his own that it's missing the affidavit of witnesses. When I asked why it wasn't needed back in 1984, he said that the court would then usually call on the witnesses to testify that the testator was of sound mind etc. I don't know how it was done; notarized agreements maybe?
Luckily, he seemed to recognize the second signature and took a chance and looked up the name. This person was a lawyer who supposedly registered in 1957! So of course I assumed he died since he's gotta be at least in his mid 80's by now. But then he called the original office and he's still practicing! The lawyer explained the situation to him and the witness agreed to attest to the signature. So it looks like that's not a hurdle anymore. But from speaking to two lawyers, it sounds as if the affidavit is a necessary part of the process that would save time and money.

Thanks to all who chimed in.

 

[justalayman]

Thanks for the update. Glad to hear things are working out for you.