Often there are discussions in families regarding property and our elders want to distribute the property as per their wishes. Many times it happens that parents or elders in the house write their last wish or will on a plain paper. After his death, confusion arises in the minds of the family members as to whether the court or the law will recognize such a hand-written letter as a will? The common belief is that thick stamp paper and visits to courts are necessary to prepare a will. But the Indian Succession Act sets some rules in this matter which every citizen should know.
Is a will on plain paper a sure legal document?
If we look at the provisions of the Indian Succession Act, it is not at all mandatory to register the will. Apart from this, it is not considered necessary to get it made on any expensive stamp paper. The law has not prescribed any specific or fixed format for preparing a will. This simply means that if your parents or grandparents have written the will with their own hands on a simple piece of paper, then it can be completely valid. But for this recognition it is very important to fulfill some other mandatory conditions.
a condition without which a will has no value
Even though the importance of plain paper is in the eyes of law, but Section 63 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925 lays down a very important rule. According to this rule, for the will to be legally valid, the first requirement is the signature of the testator. Immediately after this, the most important condition is the presence of at least two witnesses and their signatures.
Suppose a person wrote a complete will on plain paper, he had a firm intention to implement it as a will and he also put his signature on it. But, if that document is not signed by at least two witnesses, the law will not consider that paper as a valid will.
What will happen to the property in the absence of witnesses?
Indian succession law emphasizes that the presence of witnesses is the most important link. If the testator has merely written his will on a rough copy of the page and signed it, and has also got the signatures of two witnesses, then that paper becomes a legally valid will. Without witnesses, no such will can be considered valid nor can it be implemented.
To avoid disputes, understand this subtle legal issue
If for some reason the signatures of the witnesses are not on that paper, the situation changes completely. In such a situation, the law assumes that the person concerned died without making any will. After this, the property will not be divided on the basis of the things or conditions written in that will, but will be done as per the rules laid down in the Succession Act. In such cases, all the legal heirs will get their respective rights in the property according to their category.