Tobe Easton of Easton Lawyers
As the dear readers would already know a Will is a document that sets out the wishes of a person regarding how that person’s estate should be distributed after death. I shall call the will-maker “the Testator” for the rest of this article.
For a Will to be valid it must meet certain formal requirements as follows:
1. WRITING: The Will must be in writing. This means that it can be handwritten or typed. The same writing method – either handwriting or typed – must be used throughout the Will to avoid confusion. It can be made in any language but it is obviously best if it is written in English to avoid problems of translation or interpretation.
2. SIGNED: It should be signed by the Testator making the Will. A signature can also be a mark in case the person signing the Will is blind or illiterate. In circumstances where the Testator is unable to mark or sign the Will then someone else can sign on the Testator’s behalf providing firstly that the Testator is present when the Will is signed and secondly that this is disclosed in the Will.
3. DATED: the Will must be dated the day it was signed. Although a Will is effective from the date of the Testator’s death and not from the date of signing, the date of signing must appear on the Will. If the Will has no date then the witnesses may be required to swear an affidavit about the date the Will was signed.
4. WITNESSES: The Testator’s signature must be witnessed by two witnesses who must both be present when the Testator signs. It is also important that a beneficiary not witness the Testator’s signature as in a worst case scenario it could mean that any gift to that beneficiary is invalid.
In my next article I shall discuss matters that Should; rather than Must; be contained in a Will.
Easton Lawyers 62 Maple St Maleny Ph: 5478 6500 tove@eastonlawyers.com.au
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