Posts in January 5, 2009

State statute determines who can be a witness, but there are some general tendencies that genealogists need to be aware of. A witness to a document usually needs to be of sound mind and of legal age. They also should have no direct interest in the document. For example, an heir to a will should not be a witness. And the grantor or grantee on a deed should not be a witness either. Sometimes one will hear that one witness was from the wife’s side and one was from the husband’s side, etc. There may be times where that happens, but it is not a hard and fast rule. A witness is saying that “I saw you sign that document and I know who you are.” That’s it. […]