A Guide for legal professionals with visually impaired clients

This is a guide for legal professionals to use when making or amending Wills for clients who are blind or partially sighted.

It contains information on some of the things you can do to make the process more accessible to a blind or partially sighted client. We hope the very practical and straightforward steps covered here will also help you feel confident about the service you are delivering to visually impaired people.

Tips for legal professionals on making a Will

• Action for Blind People does not recommend that a Will should be produced in Braille, as although it would be recognised as a legal document it could quite easily be altered and the meaning changed. If however a client would like a Braille copy of their Will we can advise on this.

• If the client is unable to read a Will, one of the witnesses should read it aloud. Clearly it must be stated that ‘I (name of the witness) certify that before execution the will was read over by me to (name of Testator) and I further certify that I am satisfied that he/she appeared to understand it perfectly.’

• When your client is signing the Will guide him/her to the exact point at which they should sign the document. However someone can sign on behalf of the client as long as it is stated that the Will was ‘signed on behalf of and in the presence of (name of testator)’. Signing in guides can also be purchased at very low cost to make it easier for the blind or partially sighted person to sign documents.

More information for legal professionals;

Guide to meeting and guiding someone who is visually impaired

Tips on producing printed material for people who are visually impaired

Visual Awareness Training
This can be offered to both small and large groups, so if you and any of your colleagues would like to participate in Visual Awareness training please contact Anna Vincent on 020 7635 4894.