For a Will to be valid in Maryland, it must be signed by the person making the Will and two witnesses.
Attestation is the act of witnesses in seeing that those things exist and are done which the statute requires. It begins with the testator asking the witnesses, either by words or deeds, to sign the Will. Witnesses need not know the document is a Will as long as they see the testator sign it; nor must they observe the testator signing it as long as he or she acknowledges the signature or informs the witnesses that the document is a Will.
The witnesses must, however, sign the will in the testator’s presence, i.e., within the testator’s unobstructed range of vision.
Practice pointer: The testator (the person making the Will) should declare that he is about to execute his Will and then he should sign his Will in front of two witnesses; and then the two witnesses should both sign the Will in each other’s and testator’s presence.
