Who Can Witness My Will in Texas?
Witnesses have a very important role in Will executions. It’s their job to verify that the Testator executed his will and had testamentary capacity and intent to do so.
In order for a non-holographic Will to be valid, Texas requires that it be signed by two or more witnesses. The statute requires that the witnesses be over the age of 14, although I typically recommend that the witnesses be over the age of 18 years of age. The statute also requires that the witnesses be credible, which implies that they would be competent to testify about the facts of the Will’s execution.
Witnesses should be disinterested, which means that they should stand to gain nothing from the Will. Testamentary gifts to a beneficiary who is also a witness is presumed void, with a few exceptions.
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Comments
Crystal Wright
February 16, 2016 at 6:03pm
I’m living in a city where I don’t have any friends and I want to get my will witnessed. What do I do? What’s acceptable?
Does this mean that I can go to the UPS store?
Rania Combs
February 26, 2016 at 7:24pm
It is not necessary for a witness to be your friend. Witnesses can also be work associates, neighbors, or even strangers. Sometimes, notaries provide witnesses for an additional fee. If you don’t know the witnesses, it would be beneficial to complete a self-proving affidavit and obtain the witnesses’ printed names and addresses, just in case a question arises regarding the validity of the Will.
Douglas D. Soderstrom
June 22, 2018 at 3:03pm
I have three witnesses on my will one of which is a beneficiary. Since the other are two are disinterested does this meet the legal requirement of the State of Texas?
Rania Combs
June 26, 2018 at 11:26am
Yes.