A deaf mute who does not officially speak sign language signed a will prepared by this notary without it being properly translated for him by a sign language interpreter in a manner consistent with his understanding.
The court annulled the will due to defects in its creation. The law requires a notary who prepares a document for the signature of a person who is mute, deaf or blind to note the person’s disability in the document, to ensure that the document is translated into the language of the testator and to confirm that the person did understand the meaning of the action. In our case, the deceased was fluent in sign language that was only understandable to those close to him, the will was prepared by a notary who summoned a sign language interpreter for the date of signing the will, but the interpreter was unable to understand the testator and did not read and translate the will for him as required by law. Therefore, despite the presence of the notary, the will was annulled.
