united-states new-york-state wills probate
Do Will witnesses in NY state require a copy of the Will prior to witnessing/signing?
<p>In New York State in order to be a legally valid Will, the Will must be signed by two (2) Witnesses who are in no way, shape or form beneficiaries of the estate/Will.</p>
<p>Do the Witnesses need to see/read a copy of the Will in advance, or are they just there at the signing to affirm that the Testators are of sound mind, memory and testamentary capacity (not under duress, etc.)?</p>
<p>Is it customary for Witnesses to receive (in advance) copies of the Will for their own records?</p>

<p><a href="https://law.justia.com/codes/new-york/2021/ept/article-3/part-2/3-2-1/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">NY Est Pow &amp; Trusts L § 3-2.1</a>(a)(1)(C)(4) requires that</p>
<blockquote>
<p>There shall be at least two attesting witnesses, who shall, within one
thirty day period, both attest the testator's signature, as affixed or
acknowledged in their presence, and at the request of  the  testator,
sign  their  names and affix their residence addresses at the end of
the will. There shall be  a  rebuttable  presumption  that  the
thirty  day requirement  of  the preceding sentence has been
fulfilled.  The failure of a witness to affix his address shall not
affect the validity  of  the will.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>That means that the witnesses attest to having seen you sign the will, and you must know that it is a will being signed. There is no requirement that they see the will itself, and they do not &quot;attest&quot; anything regarding sound mind, memory or testamentary capacity. It is not required that witnesses receive a copy of the will (for any reason), and it is probably extremely rare for them to do so.</p>
<p>However, a witness could be called, during a subsequent court procedure, to testify as to relevant facts such as that a beneficiary held a gun to the testator's head.</p>
