It may seem pretty obvious, but you have to know and approve what is in your Will for it to be valid.
If you have drafted your own the Will then clearly you’ll know what is in it. And you’ll have made sure it says what you want it to say.
But if you haven’t made the Will yourself – for example a solicitor has drafted it or you have asked a friend or relative to prepare it for you, it is very important that you know that it says what you want it to say.
You have to understand:
the extent of your estate: that doesn’t mean that you need to know the value down to the last penny, but you need to have a good idea of your situation and of the main properties and assets
what the effect of your Will is going to be: in other words, what your Will is going to mean for the people affected by it (including people who are not going to receive any benefit from it).
Always remember that it is your Will. And the decisions in it must be your decisions.
If you usually rely on support from family or friends to keep your affairs in order and to help you with documents and administration – that’s fine. But when it comes to your Will, you must be certain before you sign it that it does the job you want it to do.
If after someone dies it appears that they have made a Will without really knowing what was in it, then the Will could be overturned: the legal way of describing it is that they did not know and approve the content of the Will.
So, make sure you read your Will before you sign it!