398270481-Will-Under-Indian-Succession-Act.pdf
- 2. INTRODUCTION The Indian Succession Act 1925’ applies expressly to Wills and codicils made by Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Jains, Parsis and Christians but not to Mohammedans as they are largely covered by Muslim Personal Law • SEC.2(h) the legal declaration of the intention of a testator with respect to his property which he desires to be carried into effect after his death • Will is the legal declaration of a person’s intention which he wishes to be performed after his death and once the Will is made by the testator it can only be revoke during his lifetime. • A Will is a statement made by a testator in the written form stating the manner in which his estate/property must be distributed after his death.
- 3. CONCEPTS • A Will is called as Testament • if the person dies without writing any Will then he is said to be have died intestate. • The person in whose favour the testator bestows the benefits called beneficiary or legatee. • ‘Codicil’ means an instrument made in relation to Will and explaining, altering or adding to its dispositions and is deemed to form part of the Will — Section 2(d) of Indian Succession Act, 1925.
- 4. • Who can make a will • Every person who is of sound mind and is not a minor can make a will. • Persons who are deaf or dumb or blind can make a will provided they are able to know what they do by it. • A person who is ordinarily insane may make a will during an interval in which he is of sound mind. • No person can make a will while he is in such a state of mind, whether arising from intoxication or from illness or from any other cause, that he does not know what he is doing.
- 5. Essential Characteristics of Will • (a) The document must be in accordance with the requirements laid down under section 63 of Indian Succession Act, 1925; i.e., executed by a person competent to make Will and attested as required under the Act. • (b) The declaration should relate to the properties of the testator, which he wishes to bequeath. • (c) The declaration must be to the effect that it operates after the death of Testator and is revocable during his life time. • (d) After the Indian Succession Act, 1925, Wills (except made by Mohammedans) should be made in writing.
- 6. Types of Wills • Under the Indian Succession Act, Will can be Privileged Will or Unprivileged Will. • Privileged Will • Any soldier being employed in an expedition or engaged in actual warfare, or • an airman so employed or engaged, • or any mariner being at sea, may, • if he has completed the age of eighteen years, dispose of his property by a Wills made in the manner provided in Section 66. Such Wills are called privileged Wills. • Privileged Wills may be made orally and may not always be in writing. If written in handwriting of testator, it may not be signed or attested. It is governed by sections 65 & 66.
- 7. Privileged will can be executed by • Soldiers must be –employed in expedition or warfare • Airman must be –employed in expedition or warfare • Mariner on sea even if he is on witnesses.
- 8. Will(privileged) written Written by testator himself-need not be signed and attested Written wholly or partly by some other person- signed by testator, attestation not necessary It need not be signed if it is written under his directions Oral instructions before 2 witnesses if reduced in writing in lifetime oral Before 2witnesses present at the same time Null &void after 1 mth if testator is alive
- 9. Section 66 in The Indian Succession Act, 1925 Mode of making, and rules for executing, privileged wills.- (1) Privileged wills may be in writing, or may be made by word of mouth. (2) The execution of privileged wills shall be governed by the following rules:-- (a) The will may be written wholly by the testator, with his own hand. In such case it need not be signed or attested. (b) It may be written wholly or in part by another person, and signed by the testator. In such case it need not be attested. (c) If the instrument purporting to be a will is written wholly or in part by another person and is not signed by the testator, it shall be deemed to be his will, if it is shown that it was written by the testator' s directions or that he recognised it as his will. (d) If it appears on the face of the instrument that the execution of it in the manner intended by the testator was not completed, the instrument shall not, by reason of that circumstance, be invalid, provided that his non- execution of it can be reasonably ascribed to some cause other than the abandonment of the testamentary intentions expressed in the instrument.
- 10. (e) If the soldier, airman or mariner has written instructions for the preparation of his will, but has died before it could be prepared and executed, such instructions shall be considered to constitute his will (f) If the soldier, airman or mariner has, in the presence of two witnesses, given verbal instructions for the preparation of his will, and they have been reduced into writing in his lifetime, but he has died before the instrument could be prepared and executed, such instructions shall be considered to constitute his will, although they may not have been reduced into writing in his presence, nor read over to him. (g) The soldier, airman or mariner may make a will by word of mouth by declaring his intentions before two witnesses present at the same time. (h) A will made by word of mouth shall be null at the expiration of one month after the testator, being still alive, has ceased to be entitled to make a privileged will
- 11. Unprivileged Will Wills made by the persons other than stated above are Unprivileged Will(ordinary wills). Such Wills are required to be in writing, signed by testator and attested by the two witnesses (except those made by Mohammedans). It is governed by section 63.
- 12. Sec-63 Unprivileged Will • It must be in writing • It must be signed or any mark in place of signature must be put • It must be attested by 2 or more witnesses • Witnesses must have seen the testator signing the will • It is not necessary that more than one witness is present • In that case testator must acknowledge his signature
- 13. Will can be made by • Every person of sound mind, not being minor may dispose of his property by Will. • As a general rule, until, the contrary is established, a testator is presumed to be sane and to have a mental capacity to make valid Will. • However no person can make Will while he is in a state of mind arising from intoxication or from illness or from any other cause such that he does not know what he is doing — (Sec. 59 Indian Succession Act). • Even persons who are deaf or dumb or blind can make Will provided they are aware what they do. • Further person who is ordinarily insane, may make his Will during the interval in which he is of sound mind.
- 14. Essential clauses of Will 1. Name: The name and description like age, religion, community etc.of the testator. 2. Revocation of earlier Wills: A declaration that the present Will is his last Will and testament and that he revokes all other earlier Wills, codicils. 3. Appointment of Executors: An executor is a person named by the testator in the Will to whom the testator has confided the execution of Will. If legacy or bequest is given to executor it should be mentioned in the Will that he would be entitled to legacy even if he does not accept to act as the executor of the Will unless there is any contrary intention. 4. Direction to pay dues if any 5. Legacies and Bequest: This is important clause in the Will, because under these clauses the testator makes the disposition of his property. He can make requests to future person also
- 15. synopsis • Introduction • Definition • Characteristics of will • Persons capable of making will • Kinds of will • Privileged will-sec 65 • Execution of pri.will-sec 66 • Unprivileged will • Execution of unpri.will-sec 63