A will is a legal declaration made by a person regarding how his or her property should be distributed after death. In India, wills are primarily governed by the Indian Succession Act, 1925, and in the case of Hindus, Section 30 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 also recognizes testamentary disposition. Section 2(h) of the Indian Succession Act, 1925 defines a will, “to mean the legal declaration of the intention of a testator with respect to his property which he desires to be carried into after his death”. A will comes into effect only after the death of the person making it, known as the testator, and remains revocable during the testator’s lifetime.

Any person of sound mind who is not a minor may make a valid will. The essential requirement is that the testator must understand the nature and effect of the document and execute it voluntarily, free from fraud, coercion, or undue influence. For a will to be valid, it must be signed by the testator and attested by at least two witnesses, each of whom must have seen the testator sign or must have received an acknowledgment of the signature.

Registration of a will is not compulsory in India. An unregistered will may still be valid if it has been properly executed and attested. However, registration can help support its genuineness in case of future disputes. A will may also be changed or revoked at any time during the testator’s lifetime, and a later will generally supersedes an earlier one.

In practice, wills are often challenged on grounds such as lack of capacity, suspicious circumstances, improper attestation, or undue influence. Therefore, careful drafting is important. A well-drafted will should clearly identify the testator, beneficiaries, assets, executor, and distribution scheme, while also revoking prior wills.

A will is an important estate planning tool because it allows a person to control the devolution of property and avoid uncertainty after death. In the absence of a valid will, property devolves according to the rules of intestate succession applicable to the deceased.