{"jurisdiction": "us-ny", "code": "eptl", "section": "3-3.2", "citation": "EPTL § 3-3.2", "heading": "Competence of attesting witness who is beneficiary; application", "text": ["§ 3-3.2 Competence of attesting witness who is beneficiary; application", "to nuncupative will", "(a) An attesting witness to a will to whom a beneficial disposition or appointment of property is made is a competent witness and compellable to testify respecting the execution of such will as if no such disposition or appointment had been made, subject to the following:", "(1) Any such disposition or appointment made to an attesting witness is void unless there are, at the time of execution and attestation, at least two other attesting witnesses to the will who receive no beneficial disposition or appointment thereunder.", "(2) Subject to subparagraph (1), any such disposition or appointment to an attesting witness is effective unless the will cannot be proved without the testimony of such witness, in which case the disposition or appointment is void.", "(3) Any attesting witness whose disposition is void hereunder, who would be a distributee if the will were not established, is entitled to receive so much of his intestate share as does not exceed the value of the disposition made to him in the will, such share to be recovered as follows:", "(A) In case the void disposition becomes part of the residuary disposition, from the residuary disposition only.", "(B) In case the void disposition passes in intestacy, ratibly from the distributees who succeed to such interest. For this purpose, the void disposition shall be distributed under 4-1.1 as though the attesting witness were not a distributee.", "(b) The provisions of this section apply to witnesses to a nuncupative will authorized by 3-2.2."], "official_source": "https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/EPT/3-3.2", "from_official_api": true, "plain_english": "A witness who is also a beneficiary can still testify, but the gift may be void.\n- **(a)** A beneficiary-witness is **competent and compellable** to testify about the will's execution.\n- **(a)(1)** The gift or appointment to the witness is **void unless at least 2 other attesting witnesses** who take nothing under the will attested at execution. ★\n- **(a)(2)** Otherwise the gift is effective unless the will **cannot be proved without that witness's testimony**, in which case it is void. ★\n- **(a)(3)** A witness whose gift is void but who would be a **distributee** if the will failed takes the **intestate share up to the value of the void gift**: (A) **from the residuary disposition only** if the void gift falls into the residue; (B) **ratably from the distributees** if it passes in intestacy, distributed under **§ 4-1.1** as though the witness were not a distributee.\n- **(b)** These rules also apply to witnesses to a nuncupative will authorized by **§ 3-2.2**.", "in_force_on": "2026-05-31", "retrieved": "2026-09-27", "url": "https://elyphived.com/us-ny/eptl/3-3.2", "publisher": "Elyphived LLC"}