Legal Requirements For A Will

The legal requirements for making a will can vary slightly from state to state, but there are fundamental legal requirements that remain consistent throughout the country.

The laws relating to the legal requirement for making a will have been developed over centuries, and these laws must be adhered to in order to make your will valid. Failure to adhere to these legal requirements can leave your will open to contest, and can even result in your will being declared invalid altogether.

The basic legal requirements for making a will are as follows:

• You should ensure that your will is typed or printed via a computer. This is a legal document and needs to be clear and legible to people following your death.
• The person making the will (known as the testator) should be clearly identified in the will by full name.
• If the testator has previously made any wills that are to be superseded by this one, this must be clearly stated in the will.
• The testator must be a minimum of eighteen years of age. The testator must also be of sound mind and body at the time that the will is made.
• The testator must sign the will, and this signature must be witnessed by two or three witnesses, who must also sign the will. The witnesses should not be beneficiaries of the will.

There are some general tips that you should practise when making your will. These are not legal requirements, but simply hints that could help to make things easier for your loved ones upon your death.

• Before you start making your will, make a list of all eligible assets (i.e. assets that are solely in your name and do not have a joint contractual beneficiary). Also, make a list of beneficiaries and decide which of your assets will be going to which beneficiary. This will make it easier to complete your will without confusion, making your wishes clearer to those dealing with the will after your death.
• Anything that is not mentioned specifically in your will may end up going to the state. Therefore, always include a clause that reads, “I leave the remainder of my estate to…” This will ensure that all assets that have not already been covered in your will can still go to a beneficiary of your choice.
• Make sure that a close and trusted friend or family member knows where you keep the original copy of your will. It is also worth leaving a photocopy with your solicitor as this could help determine the authenticity of the will, should any doubts arise.
• Don’t keep putting off the process of making your will. A great many people die each year having left no will at all. This can cause a great deal of argument and animosity between surviving relations who all think they have the right to stake a claim to valuable assets. By providing a will, you are the one that decides who gets what and since there is very little any other family member can do about it there is less likely to be arguments.

Nobody knows what’s around the corner, and making sure that you have a will in place can provide you with the peace of mind that, should the worst happen, your assets will be distributed as you would have wanted.

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