What are the legal requirements of a valid will?
In general terms, there are only a few requirements for the formation of a valid will. It must be in writing, it must be signed at the bottom by the person making the will and it must be witnessed by at lease two people who should generally not be beneficiaries either directly or indirectly of the will. The testator must also be mentally competent at the time of the making of the will and must make it of their own free will and volition with out any aspect of undue influence, coercion or extortion. The witnesses also need to be over 18 years of age. Some of the points which many people forget about the making of a will are that marriage normally revoked the making of a will and a will should be prepared immediately after marriage to provide for your spouse. Also, in Queensland and New South Wales and Tasmania, when someone get divorced, it means that any previous will is revoked, however in other states, divorce has no effect. The meaning of mental competence is that you you know that you are executing a will and you are familiar with the property that you are disposing of to your family and descendants. If there is a concern about the mental coherence of a person when they are making a will, then a doctors certificate can be obtained in relation to the mental capacity of the person when making the will.
Naturally, the main purpose of a will is to make provision for the way that your assets will be distributed to various people after you die. It is possible for you to designate any person as the beneficiary of your will. However, it is possible that if you assign a beneficiary outside your family or in an order which is different to your family or in an order to your family which is not proscribed by the Family Provision Legislation in the State in which you live then the will would be open to challenge from the family member who is disaffected by the distribution. One of the things that many people forget to do regularly is to review their will as well. This can be very important if there is a major life event such as the birth of a child, a death in the family, a marriage, a divorce or even the loss or gaining of a job or some other event that is likely to have a large impact on your assets or income.
How can I get help with the legal requirements of a valid will?
We have lawyers available online now who can assist you with the preparation of a will. You can also post your matter to the contact form on the right or to the question box below and a lawyer should answer you almost immediately.
