The K-Zone: Will

A statement of person's intentions concerning the disposal of his estate after his death. According to s.9 of the WillsAct1837, a valid will must be

in writing

signed by the testator or his agent

in the presence of two witnesses, who must also sign

There are a very few circumstances in which these provisions can be dispensed with; an example is that a serviceman or servicewoman about to go into actice wartime service can make a will informally. For other ways in which one person can benefit another posthumously without the formality of a will, see below.

According to s.15, a witness cannot (for reasons which should be obvious) be someone who is named as a beneficiary under the will.

If there is no will, or no valid will, then the estate of the deceased is dealt with according to the rules of Intestacy. Whether or not there is a will, the PersonalRepresentative of the deceased -- who becomes, in law, the full legal owner of the estate until it is administered is responsible for settling the debts of the estate and then dividing the estate according to the terms of the will or provisions of intestacy.

A gift made under a will is technically either a bequest, a legacy, or a devise; TestamentoryGift is a term which includes all these.

All wills are placed in the public domain, a fact which has led to the peculiarly English phenomenon of the SecretTrust and HalfSecretTrust. Both these devices use the mechanism of a trust to dispose of the estate outside of a will.

Other methods by which person A can make posthumous gift to person B, without the formality of a will, include the following.

A makes B a joint owner of some property of his. When A dies, B receives A's share by the RightOfSurvivorship, not by inheritance

A can taking out a pension plan naming B as the recipient of any death benefits

A can take out a life assurance policy, naming B as the beneficiary

Maybe others as well

None of these methods of disposing of property amount to a TestamentoryGift, so do not require the formality of a will to validate them.