As per the law, a Will should be signed in presence of minimum Two Witnesses. It is not necessary for Witnesses to read the content of the Will, they are just confirming that the Will was signed in their presence. As per the law, witnesses can be called by courts in the event of any question on legality / authenticity of the Will. Nowadays, it is also advisable to do a video recording of Will signature event and clip can be kept in a safe manner along with the original Will so that it can be legal evidence, if required to prove legality of a Will.

Yes, this relates to the Succession laws where there are different laws applicable as per the religion of the deceased person. For example – for Hindu it is the Hindu Succession Laws, for Parsi and Christians it is the Indian Succession act, for Muslims it is as per the Sheriat Laws (different rules for Shia, Sunni, Khoja etc.)

This is called a Special Will which is only allowed to soldiers, airmen, navy persons. Also, some Muslims are allowed to make oral wills are per their personal laws.

Will can be handwritten or typed, however typed Will is preferred. Stamp paper is not required hence it can be on plain paper. Will should be in any language which is suitable to the person who has made the Will. Will should at least cover minimum details of your family, your properties / assets, your liabilities, your wishes, your bequeaths (property distribution wishes), names of two witnesses, date and place of signing, sign of the person who has made the Will and the witnesses on each page-.

You should make a Will soon after attaining 18 years of age since in today’s world of uncertainty where untimely death due to accidents, heart ailments, terror attacks are becoming ‘way of life’ which is also why many people take insurance at a young age of 25 or earlier. If one takes insurance at a young age to provide financial support to the family in case of untimely death, why not make a Will which is an instruction in writing to the family as on ‘how to distribute insurance claim or other properties / assets.’ Hence everyone should make a Will at any age above 18.

Any person above the age of 18 can make a Will with sound mind, i.e, capable of understanding his actions and is free from any undue influences.

When you die without writing a Will (called “intestate” in legal language), all your properties, assets, wealth is distributed as per Succession Laws applicable to you, could be like the Hindu Succession Act. You must know that such succession laws have - fixed proportion to distribute properties to all / several family members which may not be as per your wishes. There could be chances of delay in distribution of properties and may lead to legal cases, disputes amongst family members etc.

Preparing a will ensures that all your assets and properties are distributed and disposed of as per your wishes after your death avoiding disputes or legal interference in the family. Also, if you wish to give more share to some of your relatives/heirs and want to ensure that certain person should not get any of your assets and properties, then will is the only effective document to do the same.

Will is a written declaration by a person about his wishes for all the matters such as distributing his / her properties, assets, wealth to family, relatives, outsiders, charities etc. after their death, to be made in the presence of two witnesses.