signed/unsigned wills

[marmiteonmykeyboard]

Would someone be kind enough to tell me if an old signed will overrules a more recent unsigned will. A close relative died and wills seem to be popping up all over the place...

Think will has to be signed dated and witnessed to be valid so unsigned has no effect.

Unsigned has no legal validity

An unsigned will is invalid, so an older, signed will would overrule it.

Thank you so much for that. The wonders of Mumsnet. I am very grateful.

If it's not signed it has no legal validity. I'd take legal advice, it may be that a court would overrule it, however that is an effective way of spending the entire estate on lawyer's fees and of completely destroying family relationships. Only if the legally signed will is cutting out people who would have a reasonable expectation of being supported, eg an elderly otherwise penniless spouse, disabled child etc would it be worth it IMO.

Thank you DeepRed. I appreciate the time you (and other posters) took to give me an answer.
I was interested as my husband was executor of the second and not the first. As the first will be what has to be followed, my husband can relax a bit...

If you found an unsigned one it is possible that exact one was then signed but is kept in a different place so worth checking.

Also when wills are signed they have to be signed in a special way and if that is not done they are not valid either.