Family Economics And Consumer Education 3 (2+1)

Lesson 14 : Will

Testamentary Capacity/Person Capable Of Making Will

Every person of sound mind not being minor may dispose of his property by will.

• A married woman may dispose by will of any property which she could alienate by her own act during her life.
• Persons who are deaf or dump or blind are not thereby incapacitated for making a will if 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.

Construction of will

1. Wording of will: Not necessary to use any technical words or art for preparing will. But only intentions of the testator can be used as wordings.
2. Construction and duty of Courts: No court has a right to make out a new will from testator if the old will made by him is not capable of an interpretation which would validate it. The true intention of the testator has to be gathered not only by attaching importance to isolated expressions but by reading the will a whole will all the provisions and ignoring none of them as contradictory
3. Test to decide whether a document is a will: A document is a will if it contains specific words of bequest (Gift of personal property by will) to come to effect after the testator.
4. Real intention of a testator
5. Clear language.

Gift:
Gift is a transfer of property that is voluntary, gratuitous and absolute conferring immediate rights.
-Gift can be given to children not to grand children.
Gift can be given to an adopted son and also to a charitable purpose.

Registration of Will
Registration of a will may, having regard to the circumstances of the case, prove its genuineness. At the same time if the evidence on record shows a certain amount of perfunctariness in the preparation of the will and if it is found that will was not read over to the testator, then registration cannot be of much value.
Deposit of will:
Any testator either personally or by duly authorized agent, deposit with any register his will in a sealed cover supescribed with the name of the testator and that of his agent(if any) and with a statement of the nature of the document.
If the testator wishes to withdraw the same, he may apply personally of duly to the registrar who holds it in deposit, and registrar if satisfied that the applicant is actually the testator shall the cover accordingly.
In some cases after the death of the testator who has deposited a sealed cover, application to be made to the registrar who holds it in deposit to open the same, and if the registrar is satisfied that the testator is dead, he shall, in the applicants presence, open the cover.

Importance of will As Family Security
A ‘will’ is executed by the holder of the property who has reached certain advanced age, or he feels that his property is to be protected after his life time and dispose the property to his survivors such persons can make a ‘will’ in order to protect the property to the person whom he intends.

• The Act of ‘will’ takes place only after the death of the maker of ‘will’.

A ‘will’ can be revoked and fresh ‘will’ can be executed by the testator himself.

• The ‘will’ should be signed by a person in a sound state of mind.
• ‘Will can-not be made under the pressure of some persons it should be made at the instance of the testator himself.

Purpose of making ‘will’: is to dispose the property to which he intends that the property should be enjoyed by a such and such persons only