What Are the Main Rules of Writing a Will in South Africa?

A will is governed in South Africa by the Wills Act 7 of 1953, which sets the formalities every testator must meet for the document to be valid: the will must be in writing, signed by the testator or by someone in the testator’s presence and by their direction, and that signature must be made in the joint presence of two or more competent witnesses who each attest and sign the will in the testator’s presence. The testator must be at least 16 years old (or younger if married or emancipated) and of sound mind — capable of understanding the nature of making a will, the assets being disposed of, and the claims of the people who might expect to benefit. Witnesses cannot be beneficiaries under the will; if a witness or the witness’s spouse is a beneficiary, the bequest to that person is void, although the will itself remains valid. The Master of the High Court is the office that administers deceased estates and accepts wills for safe custody before death.

The Governing Law: The Wills Act 7 of 1953

The Wills Act 7 of 1953 is the single national statute governing formal validity, capacity, revocation, and the limited categories of will that don’t meet the standard formality (holographic, military, and oral). Because the Act applies uniformly across South Africa, the rules look the same in Centurion, Sandton, and Cape Town — there are no provincial law-of-succession deviations to navigate.

A will that fails to meet the Act’s formalities is not automatically void. Under section 2(3) of the Wills Act, a court may condone non-compliance if it is satisfied the document reflects the testator’s intention. Condonation is a discretionary fallback, however, not a substitute for getting the formalities right the first time. Burger Huyser Attorneys’ Wills & Estates practice is set up to draft and execute wills so that section 2(3) is never needed.

Who May Make a Will (Testator Capacity)

Age

Anyone 16 years or older may make a will in South Africa. A person under 16 may still make a valid will if they are married, or have been granted majority by a court under the Child Care Act framework. There is no upper age limit, but the testator must meet the “sound mind” test at the time of signing, regardless of age.

Mental Capacity (Sound Mind)

The testator must be of “sound mind” — the testamentary capacity test, classically framed in Banks v Goodfellow, requires the testator to understand:

• what a will is and what it does;
• the nature and extent of the estate being disposed of; and
• the claims of persons who might expect to benefit.

A will made while the testator lacks capacity is voidable — it can be set aside by a court after the testator’s death on the application of an interested party.

The Core Formalities (Section 2(1) of the Wills Act)

Section 2(1) of the Wills Act sets out the default formalities that apply to every ordinary will. The steps must be completed in the right sequence, and every step matters:

1. In writing. The will must be on a physical medium — typed, printed, or handwritten. The question of whether an email or text message can constitute a valid will has been debated in lower courts, but neither is a safe route for any ordinary estate.
2. Signed by the testator. The signature goes at the end of the document by convention. The testator’s usual mark is accepted — a thumbprint is acceptable for an illiterate testator where properly witnessed.
3. In the joint presence of two or more competent witnesses. The testator must sign in the presence of two witnesses who are both physically present at the same time.
4. Witnesses sign in the presence of the testator. Each witness must then sign the will while the testator is watching. The witnesses do not need to sign in each other’s presence — they only need to sign while the testator watches — but the testator’s presence throughout the attestation is non-negotiable.
5. Signing by direction. If someone else guides the pen on the testator’s behalf, the testator must still be present, and the two witnesses must still be present and sign in the testator’s presence.

Witnesses: Who Can and Cannot Sign

A witness must be competent — at least 14 years old and able to understand what they are witnessing. The age threshold mirrors the common-law rule on competence to give evidence.

Two disqualifications matter:

• A witness must not be a beneficiary under the will.
• The witness’s spouse must not be a beneficiary under the will.

If either rule is broken, the bequest to that person falls away, but the rest of the will stands. There is no requirement that witnesses be unrelated to the testator — only that they are not financial beneficiaries. As a practical matter, witnesses should ideally include their full names, ID numbers, and address on the will so the Master of the High Court can verify their identity when the will is lodged after death.

Holographic Wills (All in the Testator’s Handwriting)

A will is “holographic” if the entire will — body and signature — is written in the testator’s own handwriting. There is no requirement for witnesses in this case. Holographic wills are accepted in narrow practice and are usually a fallback for someone in a remote location without access to witnesses. The trade-off is proof: holographic wills are harder to validate after death because the handwriting has to be formally verified. For most testators, a standard witnessed, typed will remains the conventional and safer route.

Military Wills and Oral Wills (Narrow Exceptions)

The Wills Act recognises two narrow categories of will that do not have to meet the standard formalities:

• Military / active service wills. A soldier, sailor, or airman on active service, or a person in similar circumstances, may make a will that does not meet the standard formality. This is the historical military exemption read with section 2(3) of the Act.
• Oral wills. A will spoken aloud and not written down is only recognised in very limited circumstances and is notoriously difficult to prove.

Both are exceptions — for ordinary South Africans, the standard “in writing, signed, two witnesses” rule is the only safe route.

Revocation: When a Will Stops Being Valid

A will is not a permanent fixture. It can be revoked, in whole or in part, in several ways:

Revocation event	Effect	Important exception
Marriage (including a civil union under the Civil Union Act)	Automatically revokes any prior will.	Narrow exception if the will was expressly made in contemplation of that specific marriage — must be recorded on the face of the will.
Divorce	Does not automatically revoke a will, but the Maintenance Act 99 of 1998 and the Intestate Succession Act allow a former spouse’s inheritance to be treated as if they had died before the testator.	Exception where the will was made after the divorce.
A new will	A properly executed new will revokes an earlier will to the extent of the inconsistency.	Codicil-style overrides still work.
Destruction	Burning, tearing, or otherwise destroying a will with the intention of revoking it revokes the will.	Accidental destruction does not revoke.
Written revocation	A separate written document, signed and witnessed as a will, can revoke an earlier will.	Must meet the same formalities as a will.

Codicils: Changing a Will Without Re-Writing It

A codicil is a separate, witnessed document that amends an existing will — for example, changing one beneficiary or one bequest. The codicil must be executed with the same formalities as a will: in writing, signed by the testator, and witnessed by two competent witnesses.

Simpler changes are usually handled by drafting a fresh will — the cost of a new will is rarely more than the cost of a codicil, and a fresh will avoids the risk of contradictions between an old will and its amendment. Codicils are most useful where only one clause needs to change and the rest of the will is being preserved untouched.

Safekeeping: Lodging the Will with the Master of the High Court

The Master of the High Court accepts wills for safekeeping before death. The testator lodges the original with the Master of the relevant provincial division. After death, the Master (or the executor named in the will) lodges the will for the issuing of letters of executorship under the Administration of Estates Act 66 of 1965.

Lodging a will with the Master is not a requirement for validity, but it eliminates the risk of a will being lost, hidden, or destroyed after death — and it ensures the Master already has the original on file when the estate is reported.

Will-Type Validity Routes at a Glance

Type	Formalities	When to use	Practical risk
Standard testamentary will	In writing, signed by testator, two competent witnesses	Default for most testators	Lowest risk if executed correctly
Holographic (all in testator’s handwriting)	Entire will in testator’s own handwriting, no witnesses required	Remote or urgent situations where witnesses unavailable	Harder to prove; often disputed
Military / active service will	Reduced formalities	Soldiers, sailors, airmen on active service	Very narrow circumstances
Oral will	Spoken, not written	Almost never — extremely narrow historical exception	Almost impossible to prove
Codicil (amendment)	Same formalities as a will	When only one clause needs to change	Often simpler to execute a fresh will

Practical Considerations: When to Use a Lawyer

The Wills Act’s formalities are exacting. A missing witness signature, an unsigned page, or a beneficiary who signs as a witness is the single most common cause of contested wills. Estate value, blended families, business interests, second marriages, and overseas assets all push a will beyond the standard template.

A will that “looks fine” but is technically invalid multiplies the cost and delay of administering the estate — the Master will issue letters of executorship only on a clean will. The Wills & Estates team at Burger Huyser Attorneys routinely drafts wills that absorb these complications up front: blended-family clauses, business-succession provisions, offshore-asset considerations, and trust-linked bequests are all standard scope for the firm’s work across its Gauteng branches.

Frequently Asked Questions

At what age can someone make a will in South Africa?

Anyone 16 years or older may make a will. A person under 16 may also make a valid will if they are married or have been granted majority by a court. There is no upper age limit, but the testator must still meet the sound-mind test at the time of signing.

Do you need a lawyer to write a will in South Africa?

No law requires a lawyer to draft a will — a handwritten will executed correctly can be technically valid. In practice, however, the Wills Act’s formalities are unforgiving: a missing witness signature, a beneficiary who also signs as witness, or an in-the-presence defect is the most common reason wills are challenged or declared invalid after death. Engaging a wills attorney is the safest route for any estate with blended families, business interests, or overseas assets.

Can a witness to a will also be a beneficiary?

No. Under the Wills Act, a witness to a will (and the witness’s spouse) cannot be a beneficiary under that will. If the formal rule is broken, the bequest to that person falls away, but the rest of the will remains valid. The witness should not be a beneficiary, and ideally not be a close relative of the testator, to avoid the appearance of undue influence.

What makes a will legally invalid in South Africa?

A will is invalid if it fails to meet the formalities (writing, signature, two-witness attestation), if the testator lacked testamentary capacity at the time of signing, if the will was made as a result of fraud or undue influence, or if it has been revoked (by marriage, by destruction, or by a later will). A court can condone defective formalities under section 2(3) of the Wills Act if it is satisfied the document reflects the testator’s intention, but condonation is discretionary, not automatic.

Does getting married cancel an existing will?

Yes — marriage (including a civil union) automatically revokes a prior will, with a narrow exception where the will was expressly made in contemplation of that specific marriage. The newly married testator should sign a fresh will after the marriage to avoid dying intestate.

Where should you keep your will?

A will can be kept at home in a safe place, but the safest option is to lodge the original with the Master of the High Court for safekeeping before death. Lodging with the Master eliminates the risk of loss, damage, or concealment after death and ensures the Master can locate the will when the estate is reported.

Can a will be handwritten?

Yes — a will is holographic if it is written entirely in the testator’s own handwriting. A holographic will is valid without witnesses, but it is harder to prove after death because the handwriting must be formally verified. A standard witnessed, typed will is the conventional route.

Can a will be changed after it is signed?

Yes — either by drafting a fresh will that revokes the old one, or by executing a codicil (a separate, witnessed amendment document) that changes specific clauses. A codicil must be executed with the same formalities as a will.

Burger Huyser Attorneys’ Wills & Estates team drafts and executes wills across all Gauteng branches — Randburg (Linden) head office on 011 888 0246, Centurion on 012 644 4990, Sandton on 011 253 3080, Pretoria (Menlyn) on 012 471 5700, and Bedfordview on 011 201 7190. The firm also handles the related work — powers of attorney, enduring guardianship nominations, and deceased estate administration — and will lodge the original will with the Master of the High Court on instruction. The firm carries a 4.8/5 average across 250+ Google reviews (Trustindex verified “Top Rated Law Firm in South Africa”) and is recognised in the Wills & Estates adjacent practice areas including Family Law (Lawyers Monthly Legal Awards 2024) and deceased estate administration. For a first conversation about a will, contact the head office or the branch nearest to you.