By Vijay Pal Dalmia, Advocate
Partner Vaish Associates Advocates
Phone: +91 9810081079 email:- vpdalmia@vaishlaw.com www.vaishlaw.com

A Will is made for disposition of property according to the wishes of the testator, after death.

WHEN A WILL TAKES EFFECT?

Will takes effect only after the death of the testator.

A WILL CAN BE MADE BY

A MAJOR person of SOUND MIND.
A person with a disability (impaired hearing, vision or speech).
An insane person in a lucid interval of sanity.
Foreigners and convicts.

A WILL CAN NOT BE MADE BY
A person who is intoxicated or ill to a level that hampers his comprehension.
Corporate bodies are incapable of making a Will.

BASIC CRITERIA FOR MAKING A WILL
(Section 59 of the Indian Succession Act)

The person making the Will should have
the testamentary capacity,
sound disposing mind,
knowledge of contents of the Will,
Free from undue influence/ fraud/ coercion,
and the making of a Will should be a Voluntary act.

CONDITIONS FOR MAKING OF A VALID WILL

The testator should sign or affix his mark (e.g., thumb mark),
The Will must be attested by 2 or more witnesses,
The witnesses must have seen the testator sign or affix his mark to the Will; or
Received an acknowledgment from the testator that he has signed the Will; and
Each witness shall sign the Will in the presence of the testator.
The witness should not be a beneficiary under the Will.

The witness can also be appointed as an executor under the Will.

PAPER ON WHICH WILL CAN BE MADE

A Will can be made on a plain paper. No stamp paper is required.

IS NOTARIZATION OF WILL REQUIRED?
Notarization by Notary Public or Attestation by an Oath Commissioner is not required.

REGISTRATION OF WILLS

Not Compulsory.
But, it is always advisable to get the Will registered as,
If registered and not contested after the death of the testator, probate of the Will may not be necessary.
Transmission of properties becomes easy.
Higher authenticity is attached to the Will.

PROCEDURE FOR REGISTRATION OF WILL
A Will can be registered at the office of the Sub- Registrar.

REGISTRATION OF WILL AFTER DEATH

Yes, registration of Will even after death is possible.
(Sec. 40 of the Indian Registration Act, 1908)

REVOCATION AND ALTERATION OF WILL
(Section 62 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925)

A Will can be altered or revoked by its maker anytime,
(Section 67-73 of the Indian Succession Act)

By execution of a new Will.

By revocation of the earlier Will.

By registration of the new Will (only in case the old Will is registered).

By the destruction of the old Will.

By the inclusion of a codicil.

In case of the marriage of a Parsi or a Christian testator, his/her Will stands revoked
(this, however, does not apply to Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, and Buddhists).

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Advocates, 1st & 11th Floors, Mohan Dev Building 13, Tolstoy Marg New Delhi-110001 (India).

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist professional advice should be sought about your specific circumstances. The views expressed in this article are solely of the authors of this article.