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Why is it important for a will to be signed?

For a will to be valid it must normally be signed by the testator (the person whose will it is). If the will is not signed the will is likely to be invalid. If the will is invalid upon the death of the testator his or her assets may be distributed other than in accordance with his or her wishes.

What are the formalities for signing a will?

How should the will be signed?

A testator should sign his or her will using his or her normal signature, although a mark or initials or an incomplete signature or even a stamped signature may in some instances be sufficient if it is intended to represent the testator’s signature.

Where should the will be signed?

It is no longer a requirement that that the testator’s signature should appear at the end of the will (unless the testator died on or before 31 December 1982), although in practice it normally will.

If the will consists of several pages does each page need signing?

If the will consists of several pages, the testator does not have to sign each of the pages, provided that when his or her will is witnessed all of the pages are attached in some way.

When should the will be signed?

For a will to be valid the testator must either sign the will or acknowledge his signature in the presence of two or more witnesses who are present at the same time. To find out more about the requirements for witnessing wills read our article on “witnessing your will”.

Can anyone other than the testator sign the will?

In most cases the will should be signed by the testator. However, the law does allow a will to be signed by someone other than the testator provided that that person signs the will in the presence of the testator and is directed by the testator to sign it. Where a will is signed by someone other than the testator the testator must in some way indicate to two or more witnesses to the will that the signature was signed at his or her request.