Wills
A will is a legal document that sets out in writing the deceased’s wishes for his or her possessions, called his or her “estate”, after death. It is important to make a will because if you die without a will (die intestate), the law on intestacy decides what happens to your property and this may not be what you would have wished for. A will can ensure that proper arrangements are made for your dependants and that your property is distributed in the way you wish after you die. This right to decide the distribution of your estate after your death is subject to certain legal rights of spouses and children.
A person who dies having made a valid will is said to have died “testate”. If you die testate, then all your possessions will be distributed in the way you set out in your will. It is the job of the executor or executors you named in your will to make sure this happens subject to certain legal rights of spouses and children as set out in the Succession Act, 1965.
After you die, somebody has to deal with your estate, gather together all your money and possessions, pay any debts you owe and then distributing what is left to the people who are entitled to it. If you leave a will before you die you will appoint an executor to carry out these tasks. An executor can also inherit under the will whereas a witness to the will cannot.
The executor has to get legal permission from the Probate Office or the local District Probate Registry to do this task of gathering and distributing. This permission comes in the form of a document called a Grant of Representation and it is this that gives the executor the legal right to act.
For a will to be legally valid the following rules must be complied with:
The will must be in writing,
You must be over 18 or have been or be married,
You must be of sound mind,
You must sign or mark the will or acknowledge the signature or mark in the presence of two witnesses,
Your two witnesses must sign the will in your presence,
Your two witnesses cannot be people who will gain from your will and they must be present with you at the same time for their attestation to be valid,
The witnesses’ spouses also cannot gain from your will,
Your witnesses must see you sign the will but they do not have to see what is written in it,
The signature or mark must be at the end of the will.
These are legal requirements and if they any of them are not met, the will is not valid.
You may change your will by codicil or make a new will at any time.
27 November 08