Succession Act 1965 section 104

Exercise of power of appointment

Section 104 deals with the formal validity of a will when it is used to exercise a power of appointment, ensuring that strict formal requirements in the original instrument do not invalidate an otherwise valid will.

• A will exercising a power of appointment is valid as to form if it complies with the law governing the essential validity of that power.
• This rule applies in addition to the general rules on formal validity set out elsewhere in the Act.
• A will cannot be treated as formally invalid solely because it does not meet specific formal requirements written into the instrument that created the power.
• The effect is to give the person exercising the power greater flexibility in the form their will takes.