Recent intervention by justice ministers to clarify that wills witnessed remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic will be considered valid has proved controversial in some quarters
It gave rise to fears remote witnessing would remove safeguards against undue influence and fraud. According to consultant solicitor Nicholas Bevan, however, common law interpreted ‘presence’ fairly broadly anyway.
In the second part of a two-part series on the witnessing of wills, Bevan looks at the lead up to the government’s announcement of an emergency measure and the approach likely to be taken.
Read more here.
