Also known as: interested witness
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A witness to a will who stands to benefit from its provisions. Modern probate statutes provide that such a witness remains competent to attest the will and that the witness's interest does not invalidate the will or any devise to that witness.
Lena signed her will at the restaurant after dinner service. Marco, the head chef who stood to receive a twenty percent ownership interest, watched Lena sign and then signed as a witness along with the manager Jill. After Lena died, her daughter Dana challenged only Marco's gift on the ground that an interested witness could not validly attest. The court upheld both the will and Marco's devise because his status as a beneficiary did not affect validity.
Hope executed his will in the construction trailer during lunch. Billy, the foreman named to receive the tools and work truck, signed as a witness along with intern Vincent. After Hope died, his children argued that Billy's expectancy rendered him incompetent. The court rejected the challenge and admitted the will because Billy's interest did not disqualify him or invalidate any provision.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
No. The controlling statute provides that the signing of a will by an interested witness does not invalidate the will or any provision of it. A beneficiary who is otherwise competent may therefore serve as an attesting witness without forfeiting the devise.
Supporting sources
The witness must be generally competent to testify, meaning an adult of sound mind capable of observing, recalling, and relating the execution. Interest in the will is irrelevant to that competence determination.
Supporting sources
At common law an interested witness was disqualified and the gift or the entire will could fail. Modern statutes reject that disqualification and expressly preserve both the will and the interested witness's devise.
Supporting sources
…v. Hillman , 625 P.2d 364, 366 (Colo.1981). The policy underlying the Dead Man’s Statute is to guard against perjury by living interested witnesses when deceased persons cannot refute the testimony, thus protecting estates against unjust claims. See Coon v. Berger , 41 Colo.App. 358, 360, 588 P.2d 386, 388 (1978), aff'd , 199 Colo.…