Legal

Witness

A witness is a person who observes you signing a legal document and then signs it themselves to confirm they saw you sign. Most wills require two adult witnesses. Important rules: in most places a beneficiary of the will cannot also be a witness. Using the wrong witnesses can make a will legally invalid.

In short

A witness confirms your signature on legal documents like a will. Most wills need two adult witnesses — and a beneficiary usually cannot be one of them.