August 9th, 2012

Ohio‘s statute regarding the method of making a will is similar to statutes in other jurisdictions:

Except oral wills, every will shall be in writing, but may be handwritten or typewritten. The will shall be signed at the end by the testator or by some other person in the testator’s conscious presence and at the testator’s express direction. The will shall be attested and subscribed in the conscious presence of the testator, by two or more competent witnesses, who saw the testator subscribe, or heard the testator acknowledge the testator’s signature.

For purposes of this section, “conscious presence” means within the range of any of the testator’s senses, excluding the sense of sight or sound that is sensed by telephonic, electronic, or other distant communication.*

So, how is this statute to be applied when the attesting witnesses ‘witness’ execution from another room through a one-way video monitor? (more…)