The State of Tennessee strictly construes the formalities involving the execution of a valid will. The Court of Appeals of Tennessee has recently held in In re Estate of Bill Morris, that a will is not valid if it is not actually signed by the witness. In this case the two witnesses signed what amounted to a self-proving affidavit and did not actually sign the will itself. The text of the Court of Appeals decision can be read here.
See Luke Lantta, Tennessee Will Witnesses Must Sign Will Itself, Bryan Cave LLP, June 10, 2015.
Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse for bringing this article to my attention.
