Last will and testament

A last will and testament form is the last written testament given by the deceased person telling their survivors what to do with their estate. In most states for a will to be valid it must follow strict guidelines as to, signing, witnessing and notarizing. The requirements vary from state to state and country to country.

To make a will it's absolutely necessary to be at "legal age and sound mind”. All states and countries consider age 18 to be legal age. To determine if the person has a sound mind the law uses these guidelines: the person must understand; the nature of his property, the people who he would normally leave the property to, and the manner in which he is leaving it. A person does not need to be very smart to understand these things, or be in perfect mental health. The only people who could not write a will under these circumstances are those that are moderately to severely mentally handicapped or mentally deranged.

The simple and yet rare used form or will is the Holographic Will. This form is accepted only in a few states and countries because it doesn't need any witnesses, it must only be handwritten by the hand of the testator with his signature and the date of making the will.

The signature is very important for a will. It must be handwritten and normally it should be at the end of the will, but some states will allow it to be anywhere in the will. Some states and countries ask for the signature to be validated by one or two witnesses who must witnesses that the testator is the person who signs the will.