Succession Act 1965 section 78

Signing and witnessing will

Section 78 sets out the formal requirements for signing and witnessing a will so that it is legally valid.

• A valid will must be in writing and signed at the foot or end by the testator (or by someone else at the testator's direction and in their presence)
• The testator must sign or acknowledge their signature before at least two witnesses who are present at the same time, and each witness must then sign in the testator's presence
• The position of the signature is treated flexibly — it is sufficient if it is placed at, after, under, beside, or opposite the end of the will, provided it is apparent the testator intended the signature to validate the document
• Any wording or disposition added to the will after the testator has signed it has no legal effect

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