Witnessing an Ordinary Will made during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

To make a will in Thailand, a testator is free to choose the forms of will he wishes to do. One of the most popular forms of will chosen by the testator is an ordinary will. However, the critical problem that arises if the testator decides to make an ordinary will during the COVID-19 pandemic, is that it must be signed by the testator in the presence of at least two witnesses, and the witnesses are required to sign their names certifying the testator’s signature. Thus, gathering the testator and witnesses in the same place poses a risk of contracting COVID-19. Therefore, the governments of various jurisdictions then decided to resolve this issue by allowing the adoption of remote witnessing to be applied to the wills made during COVID-19. This article focuses on the legal issues that may arise if remote witnessing measures, such as witnessing via video conference, are adopted instead of requiring witnesses to be physically present when witnessing the will. It will explore the examples of foreign law regarding remote witnessing in an ordinary will made during COVID-19. Lessons learned from them can be used to analyze and suggest a possible way to amend the Thai laws related to ordinary will witnessing will cope with the COVID-19 outbreak.