Holo­graph­ic Will

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Catrin, UK Solicitor
26/04/2024 ● 4 minutes
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Holo­graph­ic Wills are hand­writ­ten by the test­ator without wit­nesses. Ex­plore their cre­ation, legal stand­ing in the UK, and ac­cept­ance in other re­gions. Learn about ap­pro­pri­ate cir­cum­stances for their use, po­ten­tial risks, and the legal stand­ards re­quired in vari­ous areas.

Holo­graph­ic will sounds com­plic­ated but it is simply a hand­writ­ten will cre­ated and signed by the test­ator (the person making the will) without the pres­ence of wit­nesses.

We’ll cover the spe­cial cir­cum­stances under which they are cre­ated, how these wills are viewed under UK law, and how this com­pares to other places where they're more com­monly ac­cepted.

In the UK, wills need to meet strict legal stand­ards to be con­sidered valid. We'll walk you through when it might be suit­able to use a holo­graph­ic will, the po­ten­tial risks, and the spe­cif­ic legal rules that apply in dif­fer­ent re­gions.

What is a Holo­graph­ic Will?

A holo­graph­ic will is a will that is en­tirely hand­writ­ten by the person making it, who is known as the test­ator.

Unlike typed or prin­ted wills, which re­quire formal wit­ness­ing pro­ced­ures, a holo­graph­ic will is as simple as it gets. That’s be­cause this type of will typ­ic­ally doesn’t need to be wit­nessed, which makes them a quick and private option.

However, the in­form­al nature of holo­graph­ic wills often leads to stric­ter scru­tiny when it's time for the pro­bate court to ap­prove the grant of pro­bate. This is be­cause the court will need to take extra steps to ensure that the will is valid and was hand­writ­ten by the person making it.

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Unlike some coun­tries where holo­graph­ic wills are read­ily ac­cepted, they are not valid under UK law. In­stead, wills in the UK typ­ic­ally need to be signed by the test­ator in the pres­ence of two wit­nesses who also sign the doc­u­ment. This re­quire­ment is laid out in the Wills Act 1837.

There are lim­ited cir­cum­stances where a holo­graph­ic will might be re­cog­nised as valid, such as if it was cre­ated in a jur­is­dic­tion where holo­graph­ic wills are leg­ally re­cog­nised and meets cer­tain cri­ter­ia.

However, it would need to be proved in court that the holo­graph­ic will meets the re­quire­ments of UK law, which can be com­plex and chal­len­ging.

Due to the lack of wit­nesses, prov­ing the au­then­ti­city of a holo­graph­ic will can be ex­tremely dif­ficult. For this reason, making a holo­graph­ic will is not something that’s re­com­mended as the best prac­tice for estate plan­ning.

Any­thing that has the po­ten­tial to add com­plic­a­tion fur­ther down the line is best avoided!

Read more about Simple Wills

The rules for holo­graph­ic wills vary across dif­fer­ent coun­tries and even within coun­tries.

  • In the United States, ac­cept­ance of holo­graph­ic wills is state-spe­cif­ic. While many states allow them if the will was en­tirely hand­writ­ten (with proof that the test­ator wrote it) and signed by the test­ator, others do not re­cog­nise holo­graph­ic wills at all. 
  • Canada is an­oth­er coun­try where the leg­al­ity of holo­graph­ic wills also varies by province. Provinces like Al­berta and Ontar­io re­cog­nise them without wit­nesses as long as they were com­pletely hand­writ­ten by the test­ator, but other provinces like Brit­ish Columbia do not leg­ally re­cog­nise holo­graph­ic wills.
  • Spain and France both accept holo­graph­ic wills, and they’re ac­tu­ally fairly common! The only cri­ter­ia is that the will was hand­writ­ten, signed, and dated by the test­ator. So, as you can see, the rules really do vary all over the world when it comes to holo­graph­ic wills.

Common Uses of Holo­graph­ic Wills

Holo­graph­ic wills are often used in urgent situ­ations where cre­at­ing a formal will isn't feas­ible.

For in­stance, someone may draft one during an emer­gency, such as a sudden ill­ness or before un­der­going a sig­ni­fic­ant medical pro­ced­ure, when ac­cess­ing formal legal as­sist­ance isn't pos­sible.

The key mo­tiv­a­tion for opting for a holo­graph­ic will is its im­me­di­acy and sim­pli­city, al­low­ing in­di­vidu­als to ensure their last wishes are noted quickly and without need­ing a wit­ness or legal rep­res­ent­at­ive.

Risks and Com­plic­a­tions of a Holo­graph­ic Will

While holo­graph­ic wills can be con­veni­ent, they come with sig­ni­fic­ant risks and com­plic­a­tions that can arise during the pro­bate pro­cess.

One of the main chal­lenges is prov­ing the au­then­ti­city of the will, as it must be en­tirely in the test­ator's hand­writ­ing and that typ­ic­ally re­quires proof that the test­ator ac­tu­ally wrote it. This can lead to issues with in­ter­pret­a­tion, es­pe­cially if the hand­writ­ing is un­clear, the test­ator’s hand­writ­ing looks dif­fer­ent, or if the word­ing of the will is am­bigu­ous.

Dis­putes among heirs are also common with holo­graph­ic wills, often stem­ming from a lack of clar­ity or per­ceived in­con­sist­en­cies within the doc­u­ment. These dis­putes can delay the pro­bate pro­cess and result in costly legal battles.

Fur­ther­more, if a holo­graph­ic will does not meet the spe­cif­ic legal re­quire­ments of the jur­is­dic­tion where it was cre­ated, it risks being deemed in­valid, which could mean the test­ator's wishes are not hon­oured and the estate may be settled as if there was never a will to begin with.

Read more about Con­test­ing a Will in the UK

Holo­graph­ic Wills is for Emer­gen­cies Only

In con­clu­sion, while holo­graph­ic wills offer a quick and straight­for­ward way to doc­u­ment your last wishes, es­pe­cially in emer­gen­cies or when formal legal help is un­avail­able, they come with in­her­ent risks.

It's cru­cial to un­der­stand the po­ten­tial chal­lenges, such as issues with au­then­ti­city and clar­ity that could lead to dis­putes during pro­bate. If you're con­sid­er­ing a holo­graph­ic will, be sure to weigh these factors care­fully before going ahead.

It's ad­vis­able to create your Will sooner than later so that your last wishes are heard and fol­lowed.

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