Wills Act 1838 - Singapore Statutes Online

Mode of execution

6.—(1) No will shall be valid unless it is in writing and executed in the manner mentioned in subsection (2).

(2) Every will shall be signed at the foot or end thereof by the testator, or by some other person in his presence and by his direction, and the signature shall be made or acknowledged by the testator as the signature to his will or codicil in the presence of 2 or more witnesses present at the same time, and those witnesses shall subscribe the will in the presence of the testator, but no form of attestation shall be necessary.

(3) Every will shall, as far only as regards the position of the signature of the testator, or of the person signing for him as mentioned in subsection (2), be deemed to be valid under this section if the signature shall be so placed at or after, or following, or under, or beside, or opposite to the end of the will, that it shall be apparent on the face of the will that the testator intended to give effect by such his signature to the writing signed as his will; and no such will shall be affected by the circumstance —

(a)	that the signature shall not follow or be immediately after the foot or end of the will;
(b)	that a blank space shall intervene between the concluding word of the will and the signature;
(c)	that the signature shall be placed among the words of the testimonium clause or of the clause of attestation, or shall follow or be after or under the clause of attestation, either with or without a blank space intervening, or shall follow or be after, or under, or beside the names or one of the names of the subscribing witnesses;
(d)	that the signature shall be on a side or page or other portion of the paper or papers containing the will whereon no clause or paragraph or disposing part of the will shall be written above the signature; or
(e)	that there shall appear to be sufficient space on or at the bottom of the preceding side or page or other portion of the same paper on which the will is written to contain the signature.

(4) The enumeration of the circumstances under subsection (3) shall not restrict the generality of that subsection; but no signature under this Act shall be operative to give effect to any disposition or direction which is underneath or which follows it, nor shall it give effect to any disposition or direction inserted after the signature shall be made.

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