The requirements, in the words of the statute
Article 5(1) opens: “No will is valid unless it is in writing and is executed in accordance with the following requirements”. Those requirements are set out in four paragraphs, quoted here exactly as they appear in the Order.
| Article 5(1) | What it says | What it means in practice |
|---|---|---|
| (a) | “it is signed by the testator, or by some other person in his presence and by his direction” | You sign it. If you physically cannot, someone else may sign for you — but only while you are there and only because you told them to. |
| (b) | “it appears from the will or is shown that the testator intended by his signature to give effect to the will” | The signature has to be meant as the thing that makes the Will operate. A name written on a document for some other reason is not a signature for this purpose. |
| (c) | “the signature is made or acknowledged by the testator in the presence of two or more witnesses present at the same time” | Both witnesses must be in the room together when you sign, or when you point at your existing signature and confirm it is yours. |
| (d) | “each witness, in the presence of the testator (but not necessarily in the presence of any other witness), either—(i) attests the testator’s signature … and signs the will; or (ii) acknowledges his signature” | Each witness then signs while you watch. Curiously, the law does not require them to watch each other sign — only you must be present for both. |
The witness rule that voids most home-made Wills
Paragraph (c) is the one that catches people, and it is worth being blunt about it. Signing first and taking the Will round to two people afterwards does not work. Nor does having one witness in the kitchen and the other in the garden. The two of them have to be there, at the same time, watching you sign or hearing you confirm that the signature already on the page is yours.
Why it matters so much. Almost every other defect in a Will can be argued about, interpreted, or fixed by the court. A Will that was not executed under Article 5 is not a Will at all. Your estate then passes under the intestacy rules in section 7 of the Administration of Estates Act (Northern Ireland) 1955, exactly as if you had never written anything down.
Note the small asymmetry between (c) and (d). The witnesses must be together for your signature, but each of them may add their own signature without the other watching. Our own attestation clause is stricter than the law requires — it has everyone sign in everyone’s presence — because doing it all in one sitting removes any argument later about who saw what.
Who may not witness your Will
Anyone can witness a Will who is capable of understanding what they are doing. But under Article 8, if a witness — or that witness’s spouse — is left anything by the Will, then “the gift or appointment is void so far as concerns that witness or his spouse”.
Read that carefully, because the consequence is narrower and crueller than people expect. The Will stays valid. The gift does not. Your witness does not invalidate your Will by signing it; they simply lose whatever you left them, and it falls into the rest of your estate. Someone who agreed to witness as a favour can lose their inheritance by doing so.
So: never ask a beneficiary to witness, and never ask a beneficiary’s husband or wife. A neighbour, a colleague or a friend who gets nothing under the Will is the safe choice.
How old you have to be
Article 4(1): “No will made by a person under the age of 18 years is valid, unless he is or has been married.”
So 18 is the rule, with one narrow exception for someone who is married or has been. ClearLegacy asks you to confirm you are 18 or over before you start, and our Wills are written on that basis.
Mental capacity
Capacity is not in the 1994 Order. It comes from the courts, and the test has been the same for over a century: at the time you make the Will you must understand that you are making a Will and what it does, have a broad idea of what you own, and be able to consider the people who might reasonably expect to be provided for — without any disorder of mind distorting those judgements. It is the test set out in Banks v Goodfellow (1870), still applied today.
Capacity is judged at the moment of signing, not afterwards, and it is specific to the task. Someone who needs help with day-to-day affairs may still have capacity to make a Will. If there is any real doubt — a recent diagnosis, a dispute in the family, a substantial change from a previous Will — that is the point at which to involve a solicitor rather than an online service, and to have capacity assessed and recorded at the time.
What revokes a Will
Article 14(1) is a closed list. A Will is not revocable “otherwise than” in one of these four ways:
- by marriage, under Article 12;
- by another Will;
- by “some writing, declaring an intention to revoke the will, executed in the manner in which a will is required to be executed” — in other words a signed and properly witnessed revocation, not a note;
- by “burning, tearing or otherwise destroying the will, with the intention of revoking it”, done by you or by someone in your presence and at your direction.
Two things follow. Writing “cancelled” across the front does not revoke a Will. And destroying it by accident, or having someone destroy it while you are not there, does not revoke it either — the intention and the presence both matter.
Marriage is the one that surprises people
Under Article 12, “a will is revoked by the testator’s marriage”. Your careful Will is wiped out by your wedding day, and unless you make a new one your estate passes under the intestacy rules.
There is a way round it, in the same Article: “Where it appears from a will that at the time it was made the testator was expecting to be married to a particular person and that he intended that the will should not be revoked by the marriage, the will is not revoked.” That is why our questionnaire asks whether you are planning to marry. If you say yes and name the person, we add a clause in those terms and the Will survives the marriage — which means you can sign it now rather than waiting until afterwards.
Northern Ireland against England and Wales
On execution, the two jurisdictions are substantively the same — Article 5 mirrors section 9 of the Wills Act 1837, down to the phrase “present at the same time”. It is everywhere else that they diverge, which is why a Will drafted for England and Wales is the wrong document here even when it has been signed perfectly.
| Northern Ireland | England & Wales | |
|---|---|---|
| Execution formalities | Article 5, 1994 Order | Section 9, Wills Act 1837 |
| Gift to a witness is void | Article 8, 1994 Order | Section 15, Wills Act 1837 |
| Revocation by marriage | Article 12, 1994 Order | Section 18, Wills Act 1837 |
| Who inherits without a Will | Section 7, Administration of Estates Act (NI) 1955 | Administration of Estates Act 1925 |
| Trustee powers over a child’s share | Sections 32 and 33, Trustee Act (NI) 1958 | Sections 31 and 32, Trustee Act 1925 |
| Power of attorney for later life | Enduring Power of Attorney | Lasting Power of Attorney |
The Trustee Act 1925 does not extend to Northern Ireland at all, and the reform that lifted the cap on advancement in England and Wales in 2014 never applied here — so an English Will used in Northern Ireland cites an Act that does not run and claims powers the trustees do not have. Lasting Powers of Attorney do not exist here either.
Make a Will for Northern Ireland
Drafted under the 1994 Order, with trustee powers under the 1958 Act and signing instructions that spell out the witness rule. From £69, usually delivered within 24 hours.
Start your Will — from £69 →Sources
- Wills and Administration Proceedings (Northern Ireland) Order 1994 — Articles 4, 5, 8, 12 and 14.
- Section 9, Wills Act 1837 — the England and Wales equivalent of Article 5.
- Section 7, Administration of Estates Act (Northern Ireland) 1955 — what happens with no valid Will.
- Section 33, Trustee Act (Northern Ireland) 1958 — the power of advancement, still capped at one half here.
Frequently asked questions
What makes a Will valid in Northern Ireland?
Article 5 of the Wills and Administration Proceedings (Northern Ireland) Order 1994 requires that the Will is in writing, that it is signed by you (or by someone else in your presence and at your direction), that you intended the signature to give effect to the Will, and that your signature is made or acknowledged in the presence of two or more witnesses present at the same time. Each witness then signs in your presence. You must also be 18 and have mental capacity.
Do both witnesses have to be present at the same time?
Yes. Article 5(1)(c) requires the signature to be made or acknowledged in the presence of two or more witnesses present at the same time. Signing first and taking the Will to two people separately afterwards does not satisfy it, and the Will fails. Each witness may, strictly, sign in your presence without the other watching, but doing everything in one sitting avoids any later argument.
Can a beneficiary witness a Will in Northern Ireland?
They can, but they should not. Under Article 8 the Will remains valid, and it is the gift that is void, so far as it concerns that witness or that witness's spouse. The witness loses whatever you left them. Always use witnesses who inherit nothing under the Will and who are not married to anyone who does.
How old do you have to be to make a Will in Northern Ireland?
Eighteen. Article 4(1) provides that no will made by a person under the age of 18 years is valid, unless he is or has been married, which is the only exception.
Does getting married cancel my Will in Northern Ireland?
Yes. Article 12 provides that a will is revoked by the testator's marriage. The exception is where it appears from the will that at the time it was made you were expecting to marry a particular person and intended that the will should not be revoked by the marriage. That clause has to be in the Will before the wedding, which is why our questionnaire asks whether you are planning to marry.
How do I revoke a Will in Northern Ireland?
Article 14(1) allows only four routes: marriage under Article 12, a later Will, a signed and properly witnessed writing declaring an intention to revoke, or destroying the Will with the intention of revoking it, by you or by someone in your presence and at your direction. Writing "cancelled" across it does not revoke it, and neither does accidental destruction.
Is a Will made in England valid in Northern Ireland?
The execution formalities are substantively the same, so a Will properly signed in England is unlikely to fail here for want of form. The problem is its content. It will cite the Wills Act 1837 rather than the 1994 Order, rely on the Trustee Act 1925 which does not extend to Northern Ireland at all, and assume the England and Wales intestacy rules rather than the Administration of Estates Act (Northern Ireland) 1955.
Does a Will have to be written by a solicitor to be valid?
No. Article 5 says nothing about who drafted the document. A Will is valid if it meets the formalities, however it was produced. What a solicitor is worth paying for is advice on complicated circumstances: business or agricultural property, a second marriage, a disabled beneficiary, assets abroad, or anything likely to be disputed.