Estate Planning

1.2.3 Requirements As To Execution The will can be any statement and be in any format, but must also conform to certain requirements as mandated by the Wills Act, and these legal requirements are:The Will must be executed as follows:

• It must be • ▪ that the will be signed at the foot or the end of the Willthereof by the tTestator in the presence of two or more witnesses who shall then, in the presence of each other, sign the Will as witnesses.

▪ The testator may sign the Will using his usual signature or if he cannot write, he can “mark” the Will with, for example, a cross or his thumb print.

▪ If the testator is not able to sign the Will (because he is too ill, for example), the Will may be signed by some other person under the testator’s direction and in the presence of the testator as well as two or more witnesses who in turn, shall, in the presence of each other, sign the Will as witnesses.

▪ Two or more persons may witness the signing of the Will by the testator, but, they must be present at the same time and must sign the Will as witnesses after the testator has signed or acknowledged his signature.

▪ Witnesses must be disinterested parties. The beneficiaries named in the Will and their spouses cannot be witnesses to the Will.

▪ The witnesses must see the signing of the Will by the testator or the person signing under the testator’s direction. The witnesses must then see each other sign the Will. The witness’ role is to witness the signing of the Will by the testator or the person signing under the testator’s direction. The witness need not know the contents of the Will to which he is a witness.

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|Attestation clause: |
|a clause that appears|
|at the end of the |
|Will which witnesses |
|must sign confirming |
|what they can |
|“attest” to, i.e. |
|what they can be |
|witness of. |