Quora Answer: Does a Self-Prepared Will Need a Specific Font & be Deposited in a Court?

The following is my answer to a Quora question: “Does a self-prepared last will and testament need to be in a specific font, and am I required to deposit a copy in a court or government office?”

Singapore imposes no font requirement whatsoever.  Most people use Times New Roman, or something readable and officious-looking, purely by convention, not by law.

Section 4 of the Wills Act 1838 sets the minimum age at 21.  Section 6 requires the will to be in writing, signed by the testator at the foot or end of the document, with that signature made or acknowledged before two or more witnesses present at the same time, who then sign in the testator's presence.  Witnesses must be at least 21 years old and mentally capable.  A beneficiary, or a beneficiary’s spouse, cannot serve as a witness, and doing so forfeits that person’s inheritance under Section 10, even if the rest of the will remains valid.

Digital wills carry no legal standing in Singapore.  Wills are excluded from the Electronic Transactions Act, meaning a digital signature does not satisfy Section 6, regardless of how convenient an online will service makes the process feel.  A will prepared through such a service must still be printed and physically signed in the presence of two independent witnesses to hold any legal weight.

A Case Showing When This Goes Wrong

The Singapore High Court case reported at [2014] SGHC 129 shows the cost of getting this wrong.  A will was executed before only one witness, rather than the two Section 6(2) requires.  The court held the will invalid on that single defect.  The estate was then distributed under intestacy law instead, producing a distribution different from what the will had actually instructed.  Some named beneficiaries received less than intended.  Others, who had been named in the invalid will, received nothing at all.  One missing signature undid the testator’s entire intention.

You are not required to deposit a copy with the Singapore Academy of Law’s Wills Registry, but doing so is advisable.  The Registry logged over 1,680 wills in 2024, more than triple the figure from five years earlier, reflecting growing awareness that a will nobody can locate is functionally useless.  At minimum, keep a copy with your solicitor or your chosen estate administrator.  Relying solely on the administrator carries risk: conflict of interest, or outright impropriety, particularly where that administrator also stands to benefit under the will.  Registering the will’s existence, and its location, with the Wills Registry remains the safer, more defensible course.

Under Rule 34 of the Family Justice (Probate and Other Matters) Rules 2024, anyone can lodge a caveat with the Family Justice Courts after a death and before a grant of probate is issued.  While that caveat stands, the Registrar cannot issue any grant, giving concerned parties a window to investigate before the estate moves forward.  The caveat lasts six months, and a further caveat can be filed if the investigation needs more time.  Once a grant of probate has already been extracted, contesting the will becomes procedurally harder, which is why the first thirty days after death matter more than most families realise.

Complication under AMLA

Singapore’s Wills Act does not apply uniformly to every testator.  Section 111 of the Administration of Muslim Law Act specifically overrides a Muslim testator’s freedom to distribute his estate exactly as he wishes.  A will drafted by a Muslim domiciled in Singapore cannot depart from the inheritance shares set out under the fara’idh rules of the Muslim school of law he professes, regardless of what the will document itself states.  This interpretation of fara’idh is limited to Singapore’s shari’ah court, under the guidance of the fatawa, legal opinions, of the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore.  This implies a Malay culture-specific interpretation of the Shafi’i school, regardless of how some may claim otherwise.

This creates a trap for any Muslim client using a generic will template built for a non-Muslim testator.  A standard will, freely distributing assets to a chosen mix of beneficiaries in whatever proportion the testator prefers, may simply be unenforceable against the AMLA-mandated fara’idh shares once the testator dies.  A Muslim testator wanting to allocate a portion of his estate outside the fixed fara’idh shares, to a charity, a non-Muslim spouse, or an unequal distribution among children, generally needs a separate instrument, such as a waswiyyat capped at one-third of the estate, or a properly structured lifetime gift or trust arrangement executed while he is still alive, rather than relying on the will alone to achieve it.  There are also other instruments such as trusts and insurance nominations that bypass this.

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Terence Nunis | Executive Chairman, Equinox Zenith | Author, The 1% Playbook: The Billionaire Cheat Code