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04 June 2020 / Nicholas Bevan
Issue: 7889 / Categories: Features , Wills & Probate
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Where there’s a will; there’s a way

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Is it a misconception that a witness needs to be physically present at a will signing? Dr Nicholas Bevan reports

Life is short and we all take an occasional shortcut now and then. In our private lives we do not hesitate to rely on the trusty sat-nav instead of undertaking the map-reading for ourselves. Some authors might even resort to a tired cliché for their article’s headline!

As busy professionals, most of us will occasionally have substituted a case header for the judgment we know we should have read. Sometimes we adopt the opinion of a trusted commentator, particularly when it is plausible.

However, this kind of referential behaviour can lead us badly astray. Even the most esteemed institutions and authorities, just like our sat-navs, can have a bad day. The present controversy over whether it is possible to execute a valid will over the internet using remote video technology, is a prime example of the blind leading the blind.

There is a near uniform consensus within

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Penningtons Manches Cooper—Gary Walsh

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Gary Walsh

Marine finance partner strengthens Penningtons Manches Cooper's banking and finance practice

Anthony Collins—20 promotions

Anthony Collins—20 promotions

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Sidley—Elaine Whiteford

Sidley—Elaine Whiteford

Sidley adds competition litigator Elaine Whiteford in London

NEWS
The cross-party Justice Select Committee has warned legal aid is now a ‘service in managed decline’ due to ministers’ ‘inadequate’ and ‘disappointing’ response to its concerns
It would not be in the public interest to bring contempt proceedings against MI5 for providing unreliable evidence about its policy of ‘neither confirming nor denying’ someone worked for the intelligence services, the High Court has held
The Civil Justice Council has recommended a practice direction (PD) be drawn up to advise lawyers on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in court documents
Courts modernisation champion and technology enthusiast Sir Geoffrey Vos has retired after an extraordinary career
Practitioners have welcomed two autumn budget reforms relating to inheritance tax on pensions
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