A WILL is the most important document anyone who has assets should have.

It reflects your final wishes and determines what should happen to your estates after you die.

It must be signed to be valid.

In a watershed judgement, the Appeal Court in 2003 ruled that an unsigned Will drawn up for the deceased by an attorney, bank, trust company or financial advisor, will not be accepted by the court for ratification as a will.

This is how a will should be signed:

- You need two people to witness the signing of the document. These persons must both be over the age of 14 and mentally competent to understand what they are doing. Preferably, an adult should be used;

- Both witnesses must be present when you sign the will;

- You must sign the will in full on the last page as well as at the bottom of every preceding page;

- If you can only sign your name by the making of a mark, contact the lawyer for the correct procedure to sign your will;

- It is also advisable that the witnesses also sign the other pages in your presence and the presence of one another. The two witnesses must sign in full at the end in the space provided for their signatures in your presence and in the presence of each other;

- Any person who is to receive any benefit under a will, as well as your executor, trustee and guardian, including such a person's spouse, should not sign as a witness as they would be disqualified to benefit;

- Any deletion, addition, alteration or interlineation must be validated with signatures by you and two witnesses. - Legatus.co.za