WILL-INDIAN SUCCESSION ACT1925

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.
 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.
• 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.
 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.
 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.
 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.
 Will(privileged)
written oral
Before 2witnesses present at the
same time
Written by testator himself-need not be
signed and attested

Null &void after 1 mth if testator

is alive
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
 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.
(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
 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.
 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
 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.
 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
 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