Wills Act 1959

Q: What is a will?

Under Section 2 of Wills Act 1959, a “will” means a declaration intended to have legal effect of
the intentions of a testator with respect to his property or other matters which he desires to be
carried into effect after his death and includes a testament, a codicil and an appointment by will
or by writing in the nature of a will in exercise of a power and also a disposition by will or
testament of the guardianship, custody and tuition of any child.

In short, a will is a legal document that expresses a person’s wishes of the distribution of his/her
estate after death. In order for a will to be valid, it must comply with these requirements:
 Testator (the person making the will) must have a minimum age of 18;
 Testator must be of sound mind;
 Will must be made in writing and signed;
 Two witnesses must be present at the time of signing of the will. The witnesses to the signing of
a will cannot be the beneficiary or the spouse of the beneficiary of the will.

Q: When can a Will be considered as being revoked?

No Will or any part of it will be revocable unless;

 Under Section 14 of the Wills Act 1959, that the testator had the intention of the revoking
their Will either by tearing, burning or any other method that involves the destroying of
the Will. This should also be done in the presence of other people so that they can act as
the witness.
 Under Section 12 of the Wills Act 1959, when the testator has married then the Will that
they made before the marriage will be revoked and become null and void which means
that you will need to draft up a new Will.
 If a person converts to the Muslim faith then the Will that they made previously shall
become null and void as in such cases the distribution of the property of a Muslim is
governed by the Islamic Law.
 According to Section 14 of the Wills Act 1959, the context located in the Will can be
revoked if it is done in a manner in which it is required to be executed that includes by
some form of writing that declares the intention to revoke the Will.

Q:Are Wills that are drafted aboard valid in Malaysia?

According to Section 27 of the Wills Act 1959, a Will that was made outside of Malaysia shall
be deemed valid only if it is made in writing or is a privileged Will. The Will should also be
executed in a manner required by the law of the place that is was made, the law of the testator’s
domicile at the time of their death, according to that of the Wills Act 1959 or the law of the
testator’s domicile at the time of the execution of the Will.
Q: Does anyone have the right to vary my Will?

While you are able to name the beneficiaries of your choice in the Will, there are still certain
people who can apply under the Inheritance (Family Provision) Act 1971 for the reasonable
provisions to be made. This will usually happen when there is nothing or there have been
insufficient amounts that have been left for them under the Will.

People who can make such claims include;

 A daughter who has not been married or is incapable of taking care of herself because of
physical or mental disabilities.
 An infant or anyone else that is below the age of 21.
 A son who has not been married or is incapable of taking care of himself because of
physical or mental disabilities.
 The wife or husband, depending on the testator of the Will.

You should also take note that a child that you have adopted legally is considered as your son or
daughter according to the Inheritance (Family Provision) Act 1971. While you may be eligible
for making such claims, you need to be aware that the decision shall be left with the courts
basing it on the merits of each of the case.
1959 年遗嘱法令

Q：什么是遗嘱？

根据 1959 年遗嘱法令第 2 条，“遗嘱”指的是旨在对遗嘱人的财产或其他希望在其去世后

生效的其他事项的意图产生法律效力的声明，并包括遗嘱，通过遗嘱或通过书面形式任命
遗嘱执行权力，以及通过遗嘱或遗嘱对任何子女的监护，监护和学费进行处置。

简而言之，遗嘱是一份法律文件，表达了一个人在死后分配其遗产的意愿。为使遗嘱有效，
它必须符合以下要求：

•遗嘱人的最低年龄必须为 18 岁;
•遗嘱人必须心智健全;
•必须以书面形式签署并签字;
•签署遗嘱时必须有两名证人在场。签署遗嘱的证人不能为遗嘱受益人或受益人的配偶。

Q：什么时候会被撤销？

除非以下情况，否则遗嘱或其任何部分均不可撤销;

•根据 1959 年遗嘱法令第 14 条，立遗嘱人有意通过撕毁，焚烧或任何其他涉及摧毁遗嘱

的方法撤销遗嘱。这也应该在其他人面前进行，以便他们可以作为证人。
•根据 1959 年遗嘱法第 12 条，当立遗嘱人结婚时，他们在结婚前所作出的遗嘱将被撤销，
并且无效，这意味着您需要起草一份新遗嘱。
•如果一个人转变为穆斯林信仰，那么他们之前所做的遗嘱将无效，因为在这种情况下，
穆斯林财产的分配受伊斯兰法律管辖。
•根据 1959 年遗嘱法令第 14 条，遗嘱中的上下文如果按照要求执行的方式进行，可以撤
销，其中包括通过某种形式的书面形式宣布撤销遗嘱的意图。

Q：在马来西亚起草的遗嘱是否有效？

根据 1959 年遗嘱法第 27 条，在马来西亚境外作出的遗嘱只有在以书面形式或以特权遗嘱

作出的情况下才被视为有效。遗嘱还应按照所在地法律要求的方式执行，即根据 1959 年
的遗嘱法或遗嘱人的住所在执行遗嘱的时间。

Q：有没有人有权改变我的意愿？

虽然您可以在遗嘱中为您选择的受益人命名，但仍有一些人可以根据 1971 年继承（家庭

援助）法令下申请合理的条款。这通常发生在没有任何东西或者遗嘱下没有足够的金额时。
可以提出此类要求的人包括：

•未婚的女儿，或因身体或精神残疾而无法照顾自己的女儿。
•婴儿或其他未满 21 岁的人。
•一个尚未结婚但由于身体或精神残疾而无法照顾自己的儿子。
•妻子或丈夫，取决于遗嘱的遗嘱人。

您还应注意，根据 1971 年继承（家庭援助）法，您合法领养的子女被视为您的儿子或女

儿。虽然您可能有资格提出此类索赔，但您需要知道法院的判决会根据案件情况而异。