The five witnessing pitfalls that quietly invalidate wills

Most wills that fail under the Wills Act 1837 do not fail because the legal drafting was wrong. They fail because the signing went wrong — quietly, in a kitchen or a hospital room, with witnesses who were trying to help. Here are the five pitfalls we have seen most often. They are all preventable. Velati's signing pack walks you through every one of them.

Pitfall 1: A beneficiary (or beneficiary's spouse) signs as a witness

Section 15 of the Wills Act voids any gift to an attesting witness or to that witness's spouse or civil partner. The rest of the will stands, but that gift fails. This is the single most common reason DIY wills partially fail. The classic case: the will leaves £20,000 to your daughter, your daughter's husband signs as a witness because he was the only other adult in the room. The £20,000 gift fails. The asset falls back into the residue of the estate and passes to whoever takes the residue. Always check who is in the room before you sign.

Pitfall 2: The witnesses aren't both present at the same time

The Act requires both witnesses to be physically present together with you when you sign (or when you acknowledge an earlier signature). 'Present' means physically in the same room — not on a video call (the temporary 2020–2024 video provision has expired), not on the phone, not in the next room. If one witness signs at three o'clock and the other signs at four, after the first has left, the will is invalid. Get everyone in the same room, sign in order, finish in one sitting.

Pitfall 3: A witness was a minor, or didn't have capacity

Witnesses must be of sound mind and capable of understanding what they are doing. The Act doesn't impose a hard minimum age, but using a minor is a known weak point: their competence can be challenged at probate, and probate registries take a dim view. The settled convention — which we follow without exception — is to use witnesses aged 18 or over. The same goes for capacity: anyone visibly impaired at the moment of signing (illness, intoxication, recent strong medication) is a poor choice. Use adult, sober, lucid witnesses.

Pitfall 4: You wrote on the will after signing

Section 21 of the Act makes handwritten alterations to a will void unless they are themselves signed and witnessed in the same way as the original will. Writing in 'and £500 to Aunt Margaret' after the signing ceremony does not work — the addition is ignored. If you want to change a signed will, do not write on it. Make a new will, or a properly executed codicil. Velati's update flow handles this with a clean revocation clause and a new signing pack.

Pitfall 5: You stapled, paper-clipped or attached something to the original

Probate registries are extremely particular about the integrity of the original will. A staple removed and reapplied, a paper-clip mark, a sticky note, a torn corner — any of these can prompt the registry to ask for evidence that the will has not been tampered with, and at worst can invalidate it. Keep the original flat, untouched, in a single safe place. If you need to reference the will, work from a photocopy or PDF; do not handle the original any more than necessary.

Belt-and-braces: keep an attestation note

It is good practice for each witness to sign and print their name, address and occupation — and for everyone present to date the document on the same day. Velati's attestation block does this automatically. If the will is ever challenged, the registry can contact the witnesses; clean attestation makes that easy and pre-empts most disputes before they start.