NY estates planning & probate attorney Russel Morgan, Esq. talks about the formal execution and attestation requirements for a valid will in New York. He highlights that in New York, for a will to be legally valid, it must be signed by the person making the will in the presence of two witnesses. Those witnesses must also observe each other signing the document. When an attorney supervises the execution, a self-proving affidavit is typically added. This affidavit creates a rebuttable presumption of validity, meaning the will is presumed valid because the attorney, as an officer of the court, certifies the proper execution. Without this, if someone executes a will on their own, they may need to locate the original witnesses—even years later—to provide additional affidavits to prove the will’s validity.