(10%)
Clara, thinking of her mortality, drafted a will and asked Roberta, Hannah, Luisa and Benjamin to be witnesses. During the day of signing of her will, Clara fell down the stairs and broke her arms. Coming from the hospital, Clara insisted on signing her will by thumb mark and said that she can sign her full name later. While the will was being signed, Roberta experienced a stomach ache and kept going to the restroom for long periods of time. Hannah, while waiting for her turn to sign the will, was reading the 7th Harry Potter book on the couch, beside the table on which everyone was signing. Benjamin, aside from witnessing the will, also offered to notarize it. A week after, Clara was run over by a drunk driver while crossing the street in Greenbelt.
May the will of Clara be admitted to probate? Give your reasons briefly.
1 comment:
The will of Clara may not be admitted to probate for the following reasons:
a. The will was not properly signed by Clara. She did not intend that her thumb mark would be her signature; otherwise, she would not be saying that she can sign her full name later;
b. The will was not signed by the testator and at least three instrumental witnesses in the presence of each other. Roberta could not be considered present during the signing of the will because she was in the restroom. She could not possibly witness the signing because there was physical obstruction. Had there been three other qualified instrumental witnesses who were present, her presence would not have been necessary;
c. The will was not properly acknowledged before a notary public because the one who notarized it was also an instrumental witness. Benjamin can not acknowledge before himself his having signed the will. As in (b), had there been three other qualified instrumental witnesses who were present, his presence would not have been necessary;
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