Rule 5.903 Subscribing witness’s testimony

If a document has a witness who signed it to confirm it's real (a "subscribing witness"), you don't automatically need that witness to come to court and testify. You only need their testimony if the specific law that controls whether the document is valid actually requires it.

For example, if you're trying to prove a contract or legal document is authentic, you can usually do this other ways. You don't have to track down the person who witnessed the signing unless the law that governs that type of document says you must.

This rule also makes clear that it doesn't change how foreign wills get admitted to probate in Iowa. Wills from other countries follow their own separate rules for being accepted by Iowa courts, regardless of what this rule says about witnesses.