COVID-19 & Will Signing

The signing of wills can now be witnessed by solicitors through the windows of clients’ homes and their cars, as the legal profession responds to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Michele O’Boyle, president of the Law Society, issued new guidelines following a significant increase in the number of people looking to get their affairs in order by making a will as part of contingency planning as the number of COVID-19 infections in the United Kingdom rises.

Ms O’Boyle urged solicitors to take additional health precautions when executing wills during this period of social distancing.

Ms O’Boyle said solicitors attending a client’s home can witness the client signing a will through a window instead of entering the home, The Times reports. If the client is sitting in a car, “they can sign on the dashboard of their car witnessed by you and the other witness” from outside, she added. Ms O’Boyle also recommended that clients be asked to bring their own pens for signing wills at solicitors’ offices.

Patrick Moylan, president of the Clare Law Association, said that there has been a “massive” increase” in the numbers making wills.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/solicitors-allowed-to-witness-wills-through-the-window-dcl5206gj

For further questions on wills please contact James Cohen directly on [email protected] or 0207 822 2257.

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