Page 21 - Nexia SAB&T Estate Planning Guide 2024

n No amendment made in a Will will be valid unless it is identified by the
signature of the testator, and the amendment is further identified and
attested to (signed) by two competent witnesses all of whom were present at
the same time when signing. These witnesses need not be the same as the
witnesses who signed the original Will.
n Any person who signs a Will as a witness, or any person who writes out the
Will (or any part of it) in his own handwriting (and any spouse of such a
person at the time of the execution of the Will) is disqualified from receiving
any benefit from that Will. However, the court may declare such a person (or
his spouse) still competent to receive a benefit if:
(a) it can be shown that the person or his spouse did not defraud or unduly
influence the testator in the execution of the Will;
(b) that person or his spouse would have, in terms of the law of intestate
succession, been entitled to inherit from the testator if that testator had
died intestate (subject to some conditions);
(c) if the Will had been attested to and signed by at least two other competent
witnesses who will not receive any benefit from the Will.
n A court may declare an executor, trustee or guardian who signs a Will as
a witness, or writes out the Will in his own handwriting, to nevertheless be
competent to act as executor/guardian or trustee (whichever is applicable)
if the court is satisfied that such a person or his spouse meets the
requirements of either (a) or (c) above.

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