what is a will and how does it work?
A Will is a written declaration by a person to manage his/her assets upon the demise of said person.
Under the Wills Act 1959, the following requirements have to be satisfied for a will to be valid:
- The will maker (Testator) must have attained the minimum age of 18 (Section 4);
- The Testator must be of sound mind (Section 3);
- Will must be made in writing (Section 5);
- Will must be signed by 2 witnesses who are adults, sound mind and should not be a beneficiary or beneficiary’s spouse of the Will (Section 5).
The function of a will is to allow the Testator to choose beneficiaries and determine manner of distribution of assets; appoint executor to apply for grant of probate, identify all the assets, pay all debts and distribute the remaining assets according to the terms of the will; appoint guardian for any minor children that the Testator might have upon demise.
It is to be noted that the above only applies to non-Muslim as Muslims are regulated by a different set of laws in Malaysia known as Syariah Law and follow the practice of Faraid, using “Wasiat” as their declaration to manage part of the deceased person’s assets.
