The government is to allow wills to be witnessed remotely for the next two years in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, applied retrospectively from January 2020.

Currently under the Wills Act 1837, two witnesses’ signatures – made in the physical presence of the testator – are required for a will to be valid in England and Wales.

To meet the demand for wills and adhere to social distancing guidelines during lockdown, inventive new ways had to be found to witness wills with neighbours witnessing signatures over garden fences and documents passed between cars parked two metres apart.

Although the government’s decision to allow remote witnessing will simplify will making for some during the pandemic (and guidance has been issued to minimise fraud and abuse), the government needs to ensure that legislation is properly drafted to ensure validity and to minimise the risk of unintended consequences.

For those worried their wills may have been invalid, the retrospective effect from January 2020 will come as a relief.

In the longer term and given that the primary legislation in this area is over 180 years old, wider reform of the Wills Act 1837 is needed to bring it into the 21st century. You need only consider what vast changes have taken place in the arena of electronic communication in the past 20 years to see that reform is long overdue.