An
Unregistered will is a Will written by the Testator on a piece of paper and
kept for future use, so that it can be executed after the death of the
Testator.
Before
knowing whether an unregistered will is valid or not, let us know what is a
will in common language?
👉According
to the Indian Succession Act of 1925 , any person who is of sound mind and who
is not a minor is authorized to make a valid will.
👉A Will
is a document written by a living person expressing his wishes to be executed
after his death.
👉It is a
document that declares the distribution of property, shares and liabilities of
a deceased person as per his/her last wishes.
👉A Will
is a document written by a person who is called testator, to specify how
his/her property and wealth should be distributed after his/her death.
👉In a
Will , a person records his/her decision about the distribution of his/her
property and wealth among his/her family , and takes effect after the
testator’s death.
Should a will be written
on Stamp Paper?
A will has to be written
, and an oral will has no sanctity, validity or authenticity, and can be
registered from the registrar's office even after it is written.
Legally there is no
prescribed format of a Will, and it can be either handwritten or typed on any
paper, and it does not need to be written on stamp paper, and a Will can be
made or changed or cancelled at any stage of life till the end of life.
Is there a time limit for
registration of a Will?
According to the
Registration Act, 1908 a document must be registered within 4 months of its
execution, but section 23 read with section 27 of the Indian Registration Act
allows registration of a Will after the execution of a Will without any time
limit.
Is registration of a Will
necessary?
Under the provisions of
section 18 of the Indian Registration Act, there is no condition which makes it
mandatory to register a Will and also it is not mentioned that an unregistered
Will is invalid.
However, it is always advisable to get a Will registered at the
Registrar's office, so that it cannot be challenged after the death of the
testator, and for the reason that a Will that is registered cannot be easily
tampered with, altered or evasion, as a copy of the registered will is kept in
the records of the sub-registrar.
When an Unregistered is
Will valid?
An Unregistered Will is
valid if the following conditions are met:
➧A Will
must be executed by the testator(s) or by someone in the presence of the
testator and under his instructions
➧If it
is not possible for the testator to sign the Will then he may affix his thumb
impression.
➧The
signature must be placed in such a manner as to make it appear that it was made
to give effect to the Will
➧The
Will must be signed by the testator in the presence of at least two witnesses.
➧The
witnesses should not be the beneficiaries of the Will.
Conclusions:
The Supreme Court, in the case of Ishwardeo Narain Singh versus Smt. Kamta Devi and Ors. (AIR 1954 SC 280)& (1953 (1) BLJR 690), held that non-registration of the will cannot be held as a reason for the invalidity of the Will.
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