Witnessing Legal Documents

Patients, their relatives or legal representatives, may ask for the patient’s signature to be witnessed on several different documents. These may include:

•  Last Will and Testament
• Lasting Power of Attorney
• Advance Decisions to Refuse Treatment
• Access to Pension Books/Banks/Building Society Accounts

NHS Lothian staff have no legal responsibility to witness the signing of any of the above documents.

Patients should be encouraged to have such documents formalised (with others) where possible before admission, or after discharge from hospital.

Patients must be assessed as to whether they have capacity and this fact must be documented in the healthcare record before any signature can be witnessed (see sec 5 below).

The process of witnessing signing of any document will only be undertaken in emergency circumstances and where a signature is urgently required.