Never use a beneficiary as a witness to your will. Doing so is a legal conflict of interest and could result in your beneficiary not receiving what you have stated in your will.

Having the same person as both a beneficiary and a will witness casts a shadow of doubt about what influence that person may have had on you, and could open the door for other beneficiaries to claim that you were influenced by that "unscrupulous" person.

If you use an attorney, have his or her office staff members serve as witnesses. If you don't use an attorney, make sure that your witnesses are not named as beneficiaries in your will.