The signature lines of your simple will are the locations where you, your witnesses, and a notary will write your signatures on the will. The affidavit will comprise the entire final page of your simple will and helps decrease the chances of your will being challenged in a will contest.
Required Reading
Signature Lines
A signature line is a line on which the indicated person will write their signature. There are several signature lines in your simple will, each of which is written and laid out in a very specific format and should not be altered, except as instructed here. It is very important not to remove any of the signature lines found in the simple will template because a will with a missing, incomplete, or incorrectly placed signature will likely be deemed invalid in probate court.
The Self-Proving Affidavit
To be valid, a will made in Washington State must be signed by the testator in the presence of two witnesses who then also sign the will. After the testator dies, the testimony of these witnesses may be needed in probate court to confirm that the will was validly signed. A serious problem would arise if one or both of the witnesses were unavailable to testify. This problem becomes more and more likely as time passes because witnesses move, disappear, or pass away, and even if they are still available, they might not remember enough details about witnessing the testator’s signature to be able to provide useful testimony.
The affidavit that comprises the last page of your simple will solves this problem by collecting the testimony of the witnesses immediately after the simple will is signed. Years later, when the testator has passed away, the affidavit can be used to help prove that the simple will was validly signed, even if both witnesses have become unavailable.
Edit Your Signature Lines and Affidavit
Signature Lines
Open your copy of the simple will and locate the first signature line, which immediately follows the final paragraph in the section entitled GENERAL PROVISIONS. Edit the year in the date written above the signature line to match the year in which you expect to execute the simple will. Then edit the text under your signature line to show your full legal name, in all capital letters, followed by a comma and the word “Testator.”
Signature Lines: Signature Line for Testator
DATED this _____ day of __________, [year].
_____________________________
[YOUR FULL LEGAL NAME], Testator
Now find the paragraph of text and witness signature lines that follow the testator’s signature line. In that paragraph of text, write your full legal name in all capital letters as indicated below. Add the name of the city in Washington State in which you will execute the simple will to the date above the signature lines for the witnesses. Edit the year in that line to match the year in which you expect to execute the simple will. Leave the witnesses’ signature lines as they are.
Signature Lines: Signature Lines for Witnesses
We, the undersigned, certify that on this date the Testator, [YOUR FULL LEGAL NAME], signed the foregoing document as and for the Testator’s Last Will and Testament in our presence, and that we, at the Testator’s request, in the Testator’s presence and in the presence of each other, have signed our names hereto as subscribing witnesses.
DATED at [City], Washington, this _______ day of __________, [year].
FIRST WITNESS
SECOND WITNESS
The Self-Proving Affidavit
Locate the final page of your copy of the simple will template. Edit the title of this page to include your full legal name in all capital letters.
Self-Proving Affidavit: Title
AFFIDAVIT OF SUBSCRIBING WITNESSES TO
THE LAST WILL & TESTAMENT OF [YOUR FULL LEGAL NAME]
Edit the paragraph numbered 1 on this page to show the county in which you will execute the simple will.
Self-Proving Affidavit: County in Paragraph 1
1. The instrument to which this affidavit is attached and which is the Last Will and Testament of the above-named Testator was signed and executed by said Testator in the County of [County] in the State of Washington in the presence of myself and the other witness.
Near the bottom of the page, edit the line that begins “County of” to show the county in which you will execute the simple will.
Self-Proving Affidavit: County in Notary’s Statement
County of [County]
)
)
Find the line near the bottom of the page that includes “Subscribed and sworn to before” and edit the year in that line to match the year in which you will execute the simple will.
Self-Proving Affidavit: Year in Notary’s Statement
County of [County]
)
)
Example Signature Lines and Affidavit
Signature Lines
Below is an example of how the signature lines of a simple will should look for a testator named John Michael Doe who will execute his will in the presence of witnesses while in Seattle in 2018.
DATED this _____ day of __________, 2018.
_____________________________
JOHN MICHAEL DOE, Testator
We, the undersigned, certify that on this date the Testator, JOHN MICHAEL DOE, signed the foregoing document as and for the Testator’s Last Will and Testament in our presence, and that we, at the Testator’s request, in the Testator’s presence and in the presence of each other, have signed our names hereto as subscribing witnesses.
DATED at Seattle, Washington, this _______ day of __________, 2018.
FIRST WITNESS
SECOND WITNESS
Self-Proving Affidavit
Below is an example of how the self-proving affidavit of a simple will should look for a testator named John Michael Doe who will execute his will in the presence of witnesses while in Seattle in 2018.
AFFIDAVIT OF SUBSCRIBING WITNESSES TO
THE LAST WILL & TESTAMENT OF JOHN MICHAEL DOE
1. The instrument to which this affidavit is attached and which is the Last Will and Testament of the above-named Testator was signed and executed by said Testator in the County of King in the State of Washington in the presence of myself and the other witness.
2. The Testator thereupon published the instrument as, and declared it to be, the Testator’s Last Will and Testament and requested us to sign the same as witnesses. At the request and in the presence of the Testator and in the presence of each other, the other witness and I subscribed our names as witnesses thereto.
3. At the time of executing said instrument, the Testator, the other witness, and I were of legal age, and the Testator appeared to be of sound and disposing mind, and not acting under duress, menace, fraud, undue influence, or misrepresentation.
4. I certify under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of Washington that the foregoing is true and correct.
___________________ Residing at ____________, Washington
FIRST WITNESS
___________________
PRINT NAME
___________________ Residing at ____________, Washington
SECOND WITNESS
___________________
PRINT NAME
County of King
)
)
_________________________________
Notary Public in and for the State of Washington
My Commission Expires:
Once you have finished editing your signature lines and affidavit, go back to the list of instructions.
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