Can your witnesses be in your Will?
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Can your witnesses be in your Will?
Asked on November 9, 2017 under Estate Planning, South Carolina
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 7 years ago | Contributor
In most states, if a witness stands to gain in any way or is named as a beneficiary of the Will, they cannot serve as a witness. This requirement prevents a witness from coercing a testator (i.e. the person making the Will) into leaving them some property. And thik about it, if later called to court to testify about the testator's state of mind, a witness receiving property would obviously have reason to fabricate or not remember certain things accurately.
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