What makes a will valid
The requirements are simple and are routinely got wrong. The testator must be of sound mind and not acting under coercion. The will must be signed by the testator, and attested by two or more witnesses who saw the testator sign.
Registration is not required for validity, and an unregistered will is perfectly valid. Registration does make a will harder to challenge as a fabrication, which is why we usually recommend it. A beneficiary should not be an attesting witness: a bequest to an attesting witness can fail.
The Chennai probate rule
Under the Indian Succession Act, wills made by Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs relating to immovable property within the local limits of the ordinary original civil jurisdiction of the Madras High Court require probate, or letters of administration with the will annexed, before the will can be relied on to establish a right.
In practical terms, an executor or beneficiary of a will covering property in the older parts of Chennai cannot simply produce the will to a bank, a registrar or a purchaser. They need the High Court’s grant. Families discover this most often at the point of sale, years after the death, when a buyer’s legal opinion flags it.
Contesting a will, and defending one
Wills are challenged on a narrow set of grounds: that the testator lacked mental capacity, that the will was procured by undue influence or coercion, that the signature is forged, or that the attestation requirements were not met. Suspicious circumstances (a will made shortly before death, disinheriting a natural heir in favour of the person who arranged it) attract close scrutiny.
The person propounding the will must dispel those suspicions. This is why careful execution matters so much: contemporaneous medical evidence, independent witnesses, a lawyer’s attendance note, and registration together make a will very difficult to upset.