Subdiv 3Execution and attestation of wills

Subdivision 3—Execution and attestation of wills 8—Requirements as to writing and execution of will Subject to this Act, a will is valid only if— (a) the will is made in writing; and (b) the will is executed in the following manner: (i) the will is signed by the testator or by some other person in the testator's presence and by the testator's direction; (ii) the signature is made or acknowledged by the testator in the presence of 2 or more witnesses present at the same time; (iii) the witnesses attest and sign the will (but no form of attestation is necessary); (iv) the signatures of the witnesses are made or acknowledged in the presence of the testator (but not necessarily in the presence of each other); and (c) it appears, on the face of the will or otherwise, that the testator intended by their signature to give effect to the will. 9—Exercise of power of appointment by will If a person holds a power of appointment that is exercisable by will— (a) the provisions of this Act relating to the formalities with which the will must be executed apply in relation to the will even though the power has been conferred on condition that a will made in exercise of the power should be executed with some other or lesser formality; and (b) the power may be exercised by a will executed in accordance with this Act even though the power has been conferred on condition that a will made in exercise of the power should be executed with some other or additional formality. 10—Will of ADF member on active service A person on active service as a member of the Australian Defence Force may dispose of the person's property by nuncupative will. 11—Validity of will (1) A will is valid if executed in accordance with this Act, even if the will is not otherwise published. (2) Subject to this Act, if the Court is satisfied that— (a) a document expresses testamentary intentions of a deceased person; and (b) the deceased person intended the document to constitute their will, the document will be admitted to probate as a will of the deceased person even though it has not been executed with the formalities required by this Act. (3) If the Court is satisfied that a document that has not been executed with the formalities required by this Act expresses an intention by a deceased person to revoke a document that might otherwise have been admitted to probate as a will of the deceased person, that document is not to be admitted to probate as a will of the deceased person. (4) This section applies to a document whether it came into existence inside or outside the State. (5) Rules of court may authorise the Registrar to exercise the powers of the Court under this section. 12—Will not void by incompetency of witness If a person who attests the execution of a will is at the time of the execution of the will or at any time afterwards incompetent to be admitted a witness to prove the execution of the will, the will is not on that account invalid. 13—Gifts to attesting witness No will or testamentary provision in a will is void by reason only of the fact that the execution of the will is attested by a person, or the spouse or domestic partner of a person, who has or may acquire, in terms of the will or provision, an interest in property subject to the will or provision. 14—Creditor attesting to be admitted as witness If by a will any real or personal property is charged with a debt and a creditor whose debt is so charged, or the spouse or domestic partner of any such creditor, attests the execution of that will, that creditor will, despite the charge, be admitted a witness to prove the execution of that will or its validity or invalidity. 15—Executor to be admitted as witness No person is on account of being an executor of a will incompetent to be admitted a witness to prove the execution of that will or its validity or invalidity.