How Is an Official Will Executed?
Wills and Inheritance Agreements
Prepared by: Constantinople
Short Answer
An official will is based on an execution procedure involving an authorised official and two witnesses. The procedure for reading and signing differs from that for a person unable to read or sign. We first establish which procedure was used. By assessing the official, witnesses, declarations and signatures within the whole document, we consider form separately from capacity and content.
You may believe a notarised will is beyond challenge in every respect or be concerned about missing wording in the document. Official form is important, but the examination must also establish how the transaction took place. Whether the testator personally read the text, the signing process and what the witnesses confirmed are separate questions. We do not assess a will from its final page alone. We examine the full text and execution records together, identify the procedure used and establish the source of the objection.
The initial review and second opinion are paid services. The scope, fee and timetable are agreed in writing before work begins.
An Authorised Official and Two Witnesses Are Required
TMK 532 requires an official will to be executed by an authorised official with two witnesses participating. The authorised person may be a notary, a judge of the civil court of peace or another official authorised by law. The official’s and witnesses’ roles are not interchangeable. The identities and eligibility of participants are examined alongside the text used.
The Sequence Matters in the Reading and Signing Procedure
TMK 533–534 regulate the testator’s communication of wishes, reading and signing the text, the official’s date and signature and the declaration to the witnesses. The witnesses record and sign that the declaration was made before them and that they considered the person capable of making the disposition. Under this procedure, the contents of the will need not be disclosed to the witnesses.
Inability to Read or Sign Is Regulated Separately
TMK 535 provides for the official to read the will to the testator before two witnesses and for the testator to declare that it contains their final wishes. The witnesses’ written confirmation must also comply with this procedure. Looking only for the testator’s signature in such a document, or drawing a direct conclusion from its absence, is not a sound examination method.
Participation and Validity Are Checked Separately
TMK 536 regulates persons who cannot act as official or witness and prohibitions on benefits. Capacity and consent issues are assessed separately under TMK 502, 504 and 557. Merely seeing an official document therefore does not complete the examination. The legal ground and record underlying each objection must be identified.
What Do We Examine in Your Matter?
We Identify the Procedure
We establish the execution method by following the records of reading, signatures and declarations. We read wording across multiple pages together without isolating it and investigate missing records.
We Examine the Participants
We assess the official’s authority, the witnesses’ identities and their connection to statutory prohibitions. We distinguish a participation issue from an issue arising from a particular benefit.
We Match Allegations to the File
We do not confuse allegations of defective form with those of incapacity, pressure or reserved shares. Examining existing litigation and notifications, we explain the research each issue requires.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a notarised will be challenged?
Official execution does not prevent examination of possible allegations relating to capacity, consent or form. The asserted ground must be specified and the relevant records assessed. Not every objection has the same result.
Must the witnesses know the entire contents of the will?
Under the procedure in TMK 534, the contents need not be disclosed to the witnesses. The reading and declaration process in TMK 535 differs. The execution method used must first be established.
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The initial review and second opinion are paid services. The scope, fee and timetable are agreed in writing before work begins.