Signatures on the written private will by the witness and those of the testator

Abstract

In this paper, I examine how judicial practice interprets the signature, or lack thereof, in relation to both testators and witnesses, and what expectations are placed on a handwritten signature in order for it to be considered a signature. It will be shown that neither the manner of signature of testators nor that of witnesses is regulated in the Civil Code, and that the law does not provide for its definition. It is described how the Civil Law Uniformity Decision no. 2/2016 was adopted, the reasons for its adoption, and the findings of the higher court practice regarding the signing of wills by witnesses after the decision had been taken. In the second part of my study, I deal with certain issues concerning the signature of the testator on a private will in the light of judicial practice. I point out that although the Civil Law Uniformity Decision no. 2/2016 deals with the signature of witnesses, I believe that the provisions of the decision apply by analogy to the signature of the testator.