Asked by a reader in Bengaluru

How do I make a will that will actually hold up?

Answered by Advocate Sharan Jain··Civil Litigation

Short answer

In writing, signed by you, and attested by two witnesses who saw you sign. No stamp duty and no registration is required. The things that actually cause wills to fail are vague descriptions of property, beneficiary witnesses, and no proof of sound mind.

A will is one of the cheapest legal documents to make and one of the most expensive to get wrong.

The statutory requirements

Section 63 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925 requires that:

  • The will is in writing. There is no prescribed form, no stamp paper requirement, and no need for legal language.
  • The testator signs or affixes a mark, or someone signs in their presence and by their direction.
  • It is attested by two or more witnesses, each of whom has seen the testator sign, and each of whom signs in the presence of the testator.

The testator must be of sound mind and not a minor. That is the whole of it.

Never let a beneficiary be a witness
Under Section 67, a bequest to a person who attests the will is void, though the will itself survives. Asking the son who inherits the house to sign as a witness is the classic way of accidentally disinheriting him. Use independent witnesses, and ideally one of them should be a doctor.

What makes a will survive a challenge

  • Precise description of property. Survey number, door number, extent, boundaries, account numbers, folio numbers. "My house in Jayanagar" invites litigation.
  • A residuary clause covering anything not specifically mentioned, including assets acquired later.
  • An executor, named with an alternate.
  • Evidence of sound mind. A doctor's certificate of the same date, or a doctor as one of the attesting witnesses, defeats the most common ground of challenge.
  • An explanation where you are excluding a natural heir or making an unequal distribution. Courts look at unexplained unnatural dispositions with suspicion.
  • Video recording of the execution, which is increasingly common and very persuasive.

Registration is optional but useful

A will need not be registered. Registering it with the sub-registrar creates a public record of the date and of your appearance, which makes forgery and undue influence far harder to allege successfully. It does not make the will unchallengeable.

Changing it

Make a fresh will revoking all earlier wills, or execute a codicil with the same formalities. Do not amend by hand on the original; interlineations and crossings-out are a gift to anyone contesting it.

One limit: a Hindu can will away self-acquired property freely, but not the undivided interest of others in coparcenary property. Muslim personal law restricts testamentary disposition to one third of the estate without the consent of the heirs.

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Go deeper on this

This answer is the short version. These guides cover the same ground in full, with the procedure, the timelines and the leading cases.

SJ

Answered by

Advocate Sharan Jain

Advocate based in Bangalore, practising before the Karnataka High Court and District, Sessions, Consumer and Family courts. Answers public legal questions to make Indian law more accessible.

This answer is general information on Indian law as at August 6, 2026, published for public education. It is not legal advice, it does not take account of your facts, and reading it does not create an advocate-client relationship. Law changes and every case turns on its own circumstances. Please consult a qualified advocate about your own matter.

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