The Witnesses Signed the Affidavit. Was the Will Valid? The Gavin Case
A will can contain clear instructions and still raise a dispute about how it was signed. The question may involve more than whether signatures appear somewhere in the packet.
In Estate of Gavin, No. 23-0680, decided December 18, 2024, the Iowa Court of Appeals examined signatures on an attached self-proving affidavit.
What was the problem?
Pamela Gavin’s daughter sought to admit her mother’s will to probate. The witnesses had signed the attached affidavit but not the separate witness lines associated with the will’s attestation clause. The district court denied admission.
The Court of Appeals reversed and remanded. Following Iowa Supreme Court precedent, it held that the witness signatures on the attached, sequentially numbered affidavit could satisfy the requirement that witnesses sign the will.
However, the affidavit did not adequately prove the circumstances of those signatures. Additional affidavits or testimony were needed to establish due execution. The appellate court did not simply announce that every remaining requirement had been met. It also did not decide the district court’s particular concern about the witnesses’ cross-notarization.
Why are these separate questions?
Iowa Code section 633.279 addresses formal execution of a will. It generally requires a written document, the testator’s signature or an authorized signature, a declaration that it is the testator’s will, and two competent witnesses signing as required.
The section also permits a properly executed will to be self-proved through the specified acknowledgments and affidavits. That mechanism can establish due execution without later witness testimony.
The distinction is between completing the acts required for a will and providing the evidence that those acts occurred. A problem with a self-proving affidavit does not necessarily answer both questions the same way.
What should someone take from this?
Consider a person reviewing a signed packet years later. Seeing two witness names does not tell them whether the witnesses were present as required or whether the affidavit accurately describes what occurred. Those are factual questions about the signing process.
This is why a careful execution procedure matters even when the substantive instructions seem straightforward. An attorney should review the document and applicable signing requirements before execution, including any proposed remote procedure.
If a possible defect is discovered after death, preserve the entire original packet. Do not remove pages or try to fill in blank signature lines. Counsel may need to examine how the pages were assembled and obtain information from the people who witnessed the signing.
Gavin illustrates that a signature issue can require a more precise analysis than declaring the whole will either valid or invalid at first glance.
Tyler ThompsonAuthor