In the
statutory
A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs the legal entities of a city, state, or country by way of consent. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. Statutes are rules made by le ...
law of
wills and
trust
Trust often refers to:
* Trust (social science), confidence in or dependence on a person or quality
It may also refer to:
Business and law
* Trust law, a body of law under which one person holds property for the benefit of another
* Trust (bus ...
s, an attestation clause is a clause that is typically appended to a will, often just below the place of the
testator
A testator () is a person who has written and executed a last will and testament that is in effect at the time of their death. It is any "person who makes a will."Gordon Brown, ''Administration of Wills, Trusts, and Estates'', 3d ed. (2003), p. 556 ...
's signature.
United States
In the United States, attestation clauses were introduced into probate law with the promulgation of the first version of the Model Probate Code in the 1940s. Statutes that authorize self-proved wills typically provide that a will that contains this language will be admitted to probate without affidavits from the attesting witnesses.
An attestation clause modeled on the Model Probate Code's language might provide:
:We, the undersigned testator and the undersigned witnesses, respectively, whose names are signed to the attached or foregoing instrument declare:
::(1) that the testator executed the instrument as the testator's will;
::(2) that, in the presence of both witnesses, the testator signed or acknowledged the signature already made or directed another to sign for the testator in the testator's presence;
::(3) that the testator executed the will as a free and voluntary act for the purposes expressed in it;
::(4) that each of the witnesses, in the presence of the testator and of each other, signed the will as a witness;
::(5) that the testator was of sound mind when the will was executed; and
::(6) that to the best knowledge of each of the witnesses the testator was, at the time the will was executed, at least eighteen (18) years of age or was a member of the armed forces or of the
merchant marine of the United States or its allies.
The validity and form of an attestation clause is usually a matter of
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
law, and will vary from state to state. Many states allow attestation clauses to be added as
codicils to wills that were originally drafted without them.
Other uses
Often synonymical with witness, an attestation "testifies to the accuracy or authenticity of something".
Thomson Reuters
Thomson Reuters Corporation ( ) is a Canadian multinational media conglomerate. The company was founded in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where it is headquartered at the Bay Adelaide Centre.
Thomson Reuters was created by the Thomson Corpora ...
define an attestation clause as where "a document has been ''executed'' in the presence of one or more witnesses (who attest the execution)".
See also
*
Affidavit
An ( ; Medieval Latin for "he has declared under oath") is a written statement voluntarily made by an ''affiant'' or '' deponent'' under an oath or affirmation which is administered by a person who is authorized to do so by law. Such a stateme ...
*
Police oath
*
Testator
A testator () is a person who has written and executed a last will and testament that is in effect at the time of their death. It is any "person who makes a will."Gordon Brown, ''Administration of Wills, Trusts, and Estates'', 3d ed. (2003), p. 556 ...
*
Testimony
In law and in religion, testimony is a solemn attestation as to the truth of a matter.
Etymology
The words "testimony" and "testify" both derive from the Latin word ''testis'', referring to the notion of a disinterested third-party witness.
...
Notes
References
* Burns' Annotated Indiana Statutes, ss. 29-1-5-3.1
{{DEFAULTSORT:Attestation Clause
Wills and trusts