[WSBAPT] Will Contest

[Philip N. Jones]

Sounds as if the notary ignored the notary statutes.  Not a good idea.
Witnesses need not know the contents of the document, but they do need to know the identity of the signer and have an idea of competency.
I had a will contest once where the witnesses made no effort to know the identity of the testator nor anything about her competency.  The judge was justifiably unhappy with the witnesses.  Those facts contributed to the downfall of the will.
Phil Jones

Philip N. Jones
Duffy Kekel LLP
Portland, OR
pjones at duffykekel.com
(503) 853-1482 cell

On Aug 29, 2022, at 12:27 PM, Leighann Hansing <hansinglegal at outlook.com> wrote:


Good afternoon,
Does anyone have a will contest petition that I can unapologetically plagiarize? We have a situation where the witness witnessed only the signing of the will and signed the attestation page without reading it. He was only in the room for the actual signature (about a minute) and can’t testify to the testator’s identity, knowledge of the contents of the documents, or competency. Also, there was no notary present and the witness didn’t produce ID yet it was somehow notarized.

Thanks in advance,
Leigh Ann Hansing
Attorney
Hansing Legal PLLC



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