Wills - Everything you need to know

I have recently been working on a couple of wills cases that raise the question of what makes a will valid. 

The law of making a valid will is codified in the Wills Act 2007. 

In short, to be valid, your will must be: 

• in writing, and 

• signed by you and two witnesses, and 

• intended by you to take effect as a will. 

• To find out more about what constitutes a legal will in New Zealand, click here.

Other information:

However, if a document doesn’t meet the formal requirements of the Wills Act, a court can still declare the document to be valid under Section 14.  In the cases I’ve been working on, the deceased had prepared a document that they clearly had intended to be their will, but they hadn’t complied with the Act.   

Prior to the Act, the law could make it hard for the court to give effect to a person’s intentions.  Section 14 is designed to help overcome those obstacles and a judge can declare a document to be a valid will, even if the ‘t’s weren’t crossed and the ‘i’s were not dotted. 

Having been down this path with different clients a few times, I’m becoming familiar with this area of law.  Disputes around wills can also be challenging when the people involved are also having to grapple with loss and grief at the same time. 

If you know anyone who has died without a formal will or who is in dispute with other family members over what a deceased person intended, please get in contact with me on +64 21 901 735 – I would love to use my experience and help avoid a dispute getting out of hand where possible.