Module 2

Capacity, intention and formalities: who may make a will, what they must understand, how a will is signed and witnessed, and what happens when the formalities fail

A will is a strange legal document, because the person who made it can no longer explain what they meant, and everyone who reads it has a stake in the answer. For that reason the law is strict about how a will is made. It asks three things. Could the person make a will at all, which is capacity? Did they know what they were signing and mean it to operate at death, which is knowledge, approval and intention? And did they do it in the way the law demands, which is the formalities? A will that fails any of the three may be worth nothing, however clearly the person’s wishes can be seen. This module takes the three tests in turn and then asks what courts do when the formalities have gone wrong.

General education on the law of wills and succession, using invented people and estates. It states common principles in simplified form and does not describe any one country’s law, which differs and changes; rules on wills, intestacy, family claims and probate are strict and local. It is not legal advice. Consult a qualified lawyer in the place that matters.