## Facts

- Samuel B. Charry executed a codicil and signed at the end of the codicil.
- Immediately following the testator’s signature on the same sheet was a fully executed self-proving affidavit in the statutory form.
- The codicil contained no separate witness attestation clause; the two witnesses signed only in the self-proving affidavit section.
- After Charry’s death, an interested party petitioned to revoke the codicil, arguing it was not properly executed because the witness signatures appeared only on the self-proving affidavit and allegedly were not made with intent to act as “attesting witnesses.”
- The probate court denied the petition to revoke the codicil, and the objector appealed.

## Issues

1. Whether a codicil is validly executed when the witnesses sign only a self-proving affidavit located immediately after the codicil on the same page, with no separate attestation clause.
2. Whether the absence of a distinct “witness” signature line and the claim that witnesses signed only for self-proving purposes defeats the statutory requirement of attestation.
3. Whether a court should treat the integrated self-proving affidavit as part of the testamentary instrument for purposes of satisfying execution formalities.

## Decision

- The appellate court affirmed the order denying the petition to revoke the codicil.
- Although the court agreed the preferred practice is to execute the will/codicil first and then add a self-proving affidavit, it held the deviation did not invalidate the codicil here.
- The witnesses’ signatures in the self-proving affidavit, placed immediately after the codicil on the same sheet, satisfied the attestation requirement notwithstanding the lack of a separate attestation clause.
- The court rejected a formalistic approach that treats the self-proving affidavit as categorically outside the testamentary instrument when incorporated into the same document.

## Legal Principles

- Attestation clauses and self-proving affidavits are not required elements of a will or codicil, but when incorporated into the instrument they may be treated as part of it for execution purposes.
- Will-execution disputes are resolved by focusing on whether statutory formalities are met in substance rather than by rigid reliance on signature placement or labeling.
- Witness signatures placed in an integrated self-proving affidavit can serve as attestation signatures when the affidavit is part of the same instrument and reflects execution in the presence of witnesses.
- The “proper method” (execution followed by self-proof) is preferable, but noncompliance with that sequence does not automatically invalidate an otherwise properly executed instrument.

## Conclusion

The court upheld the codicil because the testator signed at the end and the two witnesses signed the integrated self-proving affidavit immediately following the codicil on the same page, which the court treated as sufficient attestation under Florida law despite the absence of a separate attestation clause and arguments about witness intent.


In re Estate of Charry, 359 So. 2d 544 (Fla. 4th DCA 1978)