Western Australian Current Acts Western Australian Current Acts[s. 32A]
[Heading inserted: No. 47 of 2012 s. 6.]
UNIFORM LAW ON THE FORM OF AN INTERNATIONAL WILL
1. A will shall be
valid as regards form, irrespective particularly of the place where it is
made, of the location of the assets and of the nationality, domicile or
residence of the testator, if it is made in the form of an international will
complying with the provisions set out in Articles 2 to 5 hereinafter.
2. The invalidity of
the will as an international will shall not affect its formal validity as a
will of another kind.
This law shall not
apply to the form of testamentary dispositions made by two or more persons in
one instrument.
1. The will shall be
made in writing.
2. It need not be
written by the testator himself.
3. It may be written
in any language, by hand or by any other means.
1. The testator shall
declare in the presence of two witnesses and of a person authorized to act in
connection with international wills that the document is his will and that he
knows the contents thereof.
2. The testator need
not inform the witnesses, or the authorized person, of the contents of the
will.
1. In the presence of
the witnesses and of the authorized person, the testator shall sign the will
or, if he has previously signed it, shall acknowledge his signature.
2. When the testator
is unable to sign, he shall indicate the reason therefor to the authorized
person who shall make note of this on the will. Moreover, the testator may be
authorized by the law under which the authorized person was designated to
direct another person to sign on his behalf.
3. The witnesses and
the authorized person shall there and then attest the will by signing in the
presence of the testator.
1. The signatures
shall be placed at the end of the will.
2. If the will
consists of several sheets, each sheet shall be signed by the testator or, if
he is unable to sign, by the person signing on his behalf or, if there is no
such person, by the authorized person. In addition, each sheet shall be
numbered.
1. The date of the
will shall be the date of its signature by the authorized person.
2. This date shall be
noted at the end of the will by the authorized person.
In the absence of any
mandatory rule pertaining to the safekeeping of the will, the authorized
person shall ask the testator whether he wishes to make a declaration
concerning the safekeeping of his will. If so and at the express request of
the testator the place where he intends to have his will kept shall be
mentioned in the certificate provided for in Article 9.
The authorized person
shall attach to the will a certificate in the form prescribed in Article 10
establishing that the obligations of this law have been complied with.
The certificate drawn
up by the authorized person shall be in the following form or in a
substantially similar form:
(Convention of October 26, 1973)
1. I,
................................................. (name, address and
capacity), a person authorized to act in connection with international wills
2. Certify that on
................................ (date) at .............................
(place)
3.
(testator) ............................................ (name, address, date
and place of birth) in my presence and that of the witnesses
4. (a)
................................................ (name, address, date and
place of birth)
(b)
................................................ (name, address, date and
place of birth)
has declared that the
attached document is his will and that he knows the contents thereof.
5. I furthermore
certify that:
6. (a) in my presence
and in that of the witnesses
(1) the testator has
signed the will or has acknowledged his signature previously affixed.
*(2) following a
declaration of the testator stating that he was unable to sign his will for
the following reason
...............................................................................
— I have mentioned this declaration on the
will
* — the signature has been affixed by
........................................... (name, address)
7. (b) the witnesses
and I have signed the will;
8.* (c) each page of
the will has been signed by .................................................
and numbered;
9. (d) I have
satisfied myself as to the identity of the testator and of the witnesses as
designated above;
10. (e) the witnesses
met the conditions requisite to act as such according to the law under which I
am acting;
11.* (f) the testator
has requested me to include the following statement concerning the safekeeping
of his will
............................................................................................
12. PLACE
13. DATE
14. SIGNATURE and, if
necessary, SEAL
The authorized person
shall keep a copy of the certificate and deliver another to the testator.
In the absence of
evidence to the contrary, the certificate of the authorized person shall be
conclusive of the formal validity of the instrument as a will under this Law.
The absence or
irregularity of a certificate shall not affect the formal validity of a will
under this Law.
The international will
shall be subject to the ordinary rules of revocation of wills.
In interpreting and
applying the provisions of this law, regard shall be had to its international
origin and to the need for uniformity of interpretation.
....................................................
*To be completed if
appropriate
[Schedule 1 inserted: No. 47 of 2012 s. 6.]
This is a compilation of the Wills Act 1970 and includes amendments made by
other written laws. For provisions that have come into operation, and for
information about any reprints, see the compilation table.
|
Short title |
Number and year |
Assent |
Commencement | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
12 of 1970 |
29 Apr 1970 |
1 Jul 1970 (see s. 2 and Gazette 5 Jun 1970 p. 1521) | |||||||
|
Wills Act Amendment Act 1971 |
20 of 1971 |
1 Dec 1971 |
21 Jan 1972 (see s. 2 and Gazette 21 Jan 1972 p. 71-2) | ||||||
|
Reprint of the Wills Act 1970 approved 28 Feb 1978 (includes amendments listed
above) | |||||||||
|
14 of 1985 |
12 Apr 1985 |
1 Jul 1985 (see s. 2 and Gazette 28 Jun 1985 p. 2291) | |||||||
|
Wills Amendment Act 1987 |
69 of 1987 |
22 Nov 1987 |
22 Nov 1987 (see s. 2) | ||||||
|
Wills Amendment Act 1989 |
17 of 1989 |
1 Dec 1989 |
s. 1 and 2: 1 Dec 1989; | ||||||
|
Reprint of the Wills Act 1970 as at 11 Sep 1996 (includes amendments listed
above) | |||||||||
|
Wills Amendment Act 1997 |
47 of 1997 |
10 Dec 1997 |
10 Dec 1997 (see s. 2) | ||||||
|
Acts Amendment (Equality of Status) Act 2003 Pt. 62 1 |
28 of 2003 |
22 May 2003 |
1 Jul 2003 (see s. 2 and Gazette 30 Jun 2003 p. 2579) | ||||||
|
Reprint 3: The Wills Act 1970 as at 17 Oct 2003 (includes amendments listed
above) | |||||||||
|
Wills Amendment Act 2007 s. 3-24 |
27 of 2007 |
26 Oct 2007 |
9 Feb 2008 (see s. 2 and Gazette 8 Feb 2008 p. 313) | ||||||
|
Reprint 4: The Wills Act 1970 as at 3 Jul 2009 (includes amendments listed
above) | |||||||||
|
Inheritance (Family and Dependants Provision) Amendment Act 2011 s. 17 |
48 of 2011 |
25 Oct 2011 |
16 Jan 2013 (see s. 2(b) and Gazette 15 Jan 2013 p. 79) | ||||||
|
Wills Amendment (International Wills) Act 2012 |
47 of 2012 |
29 Nov 2012 |
s. 1 and 2: 29 Nov 2012 (see s. 2(1)(a)); | ||||||
|
Reprint 5: The Wills Act 1970 as at 10 Jul 2015 (includes amendments listed
above) | |||||||||
|
9 of 2022 |
14 Apr 2022 |
1 Jul 2022 (see s. 2(c) and SL 2022/113 cl. 2) | |||||||
1 The Acts Amendment (Equality of Status) Act 2003
s. 211(2) reads as follows:
(2) The repeal
effected by subsection (1) applies to and in respect of the will of any person
dying on or after the date of the commencement of this section, whether the
will was made or executed before, on or after that date but does not apply to
the will of a person who died before that date.
2 Part IX of the Wills Act 1970 is affected by the
Administration Act 1903 s. 47A.
3 Marginal notes in the Wills Act 1970 referring
to legislation of other jurisdictions have been omitted from this compilation.
Defined terms
[This is a list of terms defined and the provisions where they
are defined. The list is not part of the law.]
Defined term Provision(s)
apparent
10(1)
Convention 32A
country
4
Court 39(1), 49
dispose of
4
disposition 4
document 32(1)
Family Court of Australia
14A(1)
Family Law Act 14A(1)
internal law 4
international will
32A
marriage 4
person concerned
39(1), 40(1)
place 4
previous will 41(2)
Principal Registrar
39(1)
property 4
repeal
17(1)
statutory will
48(1)
this jurisdiction 32A
will
4, 41(2)