Rubber stamps, marks and initials: are these valid signatures? They are if you are signing a will in Texas.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s start with the basics. A will has to be signed by the testator (the person making the will) to be enforceable. There has been a lot of litigation over what constitutes a valid signature, and there are quite of few surprises in the resulting court decisions. The courts, which strive to uphold the testator\u2019s indicated intent, have implicitly recognized that not every testator is literate or in good health.<\/span><\/p>\n The result is a body of law that strains the boundaries of common sense. <\/span><\/p>\n Have a will signed by initials only? That\u2019s fine. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Testator only signed a \u201cmark\u201d? Acceptable.<\/span><\/p>\n Signature not in the testator\u2019s own handwriting? No problem; the courts have upheld signature by rubber stamp and by typewriter.<\/span><\/p>\n What if the testator instructed someone else to sign the will for him? That works as long as the person signed at the testator\u2019s direction and in his presence. The testator could indicate his direction by express words, affirmatively responding to a question, or by a mere gesture.<\/span><\/p>\n How about just having the notary sign the will? This is permitted but there are some required formalities. The notary has to be directed to sign by the testator, the signature must take place in the presence of a disinterested witness (someone who has no legal or equitable interest in any property affected by the will), and put some special verbiage under the signature.<\/p>\n What if there is a combination of methods, such as a will containing both the mark of the testator and a signature by another person. \u00a0Valid.<\/p>\n A will should be signed at the end of the document, so what is the effect of the testator deciding to sign the will in the middle of the document instead of at the end? None. The placement of the signature in the will isn\u2019t important as long it is somewhere in the document.<\/p>\n What if the testator doesn\u2019t sign the will at all and instead signs the self-proving affidavit? This is problematic because the purpose of the self-proving affidavit is to circumvent the requirement that the witnesses appear in court for the probate hearing. After wrestling with this issue, the courts eventually decided on a compromise: the signature is valid and the will can still be admitted to probate, but the self-proving affidavit is not effective.<\/p>\n