Will

Introduction to Will

Will, in law, disposition by an individual of his or her property, intended to take effect after death. A disposition of real property by will is termed a devise; a disposition of personal property by will is termed a bequest. The person making a will, called the testator, must have testamentary capacity, that is, must be of full age and sound mind and must act without undue influence by others.

By statute in the U.S. and in England, a will is required to be in writing, whether it disposes of real or personal property; a soldier or sailor in combat, however, may make a will orally. In a number of jurisdictions in the U.S., an oral will is also valid when made by a testator during sickness that terminates in death, but it must be made at a point when, because of the apparent imminence of death, neither time nor opportunity exists to make a written will. The law usually provides that the contents of an oral will must be reduced to writing within six days after it was declared in the presence of the statutory number of witnesses, usually three. Such oral wills are termed nuncupative wills and may dispose only of personal property. A written will that is entirely in the handwriting of the testator is termed a holographic will and may dispose of real or personal property, or both. The statutes of some states in the U.S. recognize such wills as valid without formal execution or attestation, if wholly written, dated, and signed by the testator’s own hand. A holographic will is valid only if it complies literally with the controlling statute.” (1)

Will, Forfeiture

From the book The Clergyman’s Hand-book of Law, about Will, Forfeiture (1): The provision in a will or deed that land shall be used for purposes of a certain church, may create a trust for the benefit of the church only and not a condition the breach of which would work a forfeiture.510 When a condition is put in a deed that it shall be forever used as a burial ground for the interment of bodies, it is doubtful whether the grantor and grantee together may change the uses of the property. Therefore, it is important in taking deeds to cemeteries to have no condition whatever, unless such conditions are desired.511

Resources

Notes and References

1. Charles M. Scanlan, The Clergyman’s Hand-book of Law. The Law of Church and Grave (1909), Benziger Brothers, New York, Cincinnati, Chicago

See Also

• Religion
• Church

Resources

Notes and References

• Information about Will in the Encarta Online Encyclopedia

Guide to Will