New York Probate and Estate Administration Lawyer Blog
When a will is challenged, people sometimes assume that the case must go to trial if one of the witnesses cannot remember signing the will. However, New York law recognizes that witnesses may forget events that happened years earlier. A lack of memory alone does not necessarily make a will invalid. In Matter of Malan, the Appellate Division, Second Department, considered whether a will should be admitted to probate when one of the witnesses could not remember the signing ceremony.
Background
After Roy Mark Malan died, a petition was filed in the Westchester County Surrogate’s Court asking that his will be admitted to probate. One of the beneficiaries objected to the will. She argued that the will had not been properly executed and that the decedent lacked the mental capacity to make a valid will. The person seeking probate asked the court to decide the case without a trial by granting summary judgment. The Surrogate’s Court agreed, dismissed the objections, and admitted the will to probate. The objecting beneficiary appealed.
Issue
Can a will be admitted to probate even if one of the witnesses cannot remember the will signing ceremony?
Holding
Yes. The Appellate Division affirmed the Surrogate’s Court’s decision to admit the will to probate.
Discussion
The court first considered whether the will had been properly signed. Under New York law, a will must meet certain legal requirements to be valid. In this case, the will contained both an attestation clause and a self-proving affidavit. These documents create a presumption that the required legal formalities were followed when the will was signed.
During the case, one of the two witnesses testified that they no longer remembered the signing ceremony. However, both witnesses identified their signatures on the will and on the affidavit they had signed when the will was executed.
The court explained that it is common for witnesses to forget the details of a signing that occurred years earlier. Simply because a witness cannot remember the event does not mean the will was improperly executed, especially when the signed documents support that the proper procedures were followed.
The court also considered whether the decedent had the mental capacity to make a will. To make a valid will, a person must understand that they are making a will, know the general nature of their property, and recognize the people who would normally inherit from them.
The evidence submitted by the petitioner showed that the decedent met these legal requirements when he signed the will.
The objecting beneficiary did not present enough evidence to create a genuine factual dispute about either the decedent’s mental capacity or the validity of the will’s execution.
Because there were no material factual disputes requiring a trial, the court agreed that summary judgment was appropriate and upheld the admission of the will to probate.
Conclusion
Matter of Malan shows that a witness’s inability to remember a will signing years later does not automatically invalidate a will. When the will contains the proper legal documents and the available evidence shows that New York’s signing requirements were followed, the Surrogate’s Court may admit the will to probate without a trial. Anyone involved in a will contest should consult an experienced Westchester County probate lawyer to understand the evidence needed to challenge or defend a will.