The Statute of Wills (32 Hen. 8, c. 1 – enacted in 1540) was an Act of the

Parliament of England The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the great council of bishops and peers that advised ...

. It made it possible, for the first time in post-Conquest English history, for landholders to determine who would inherit their land upon their death by permitting devise by

will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

. Prior to the enactment of this statute, land could be passed by descent only if and when the landholder had competent living relatives who survived him, and it was subject to the rules of

primogeniture Primogeniture ( ) is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn legitimate child to inherit the parent's entire or main estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some children, any illegitimate child or any collateral relativ ...

. When a landholder died without any living relatives, his land would

escheat Escheat is a common law doctrine that transfers the real property of a person who has died without heirs to the crown or state. It serves to ensure that property is not left in "limbo" without recognized ownership. It originally applied to a ...

the Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has differ ...

. The statute was something of a political compromise between

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disagr ...

and English landowners, who were growing increasingly frustrated with primogeniture and royal control of land. The Statute of Wills created a number of requirements for the form of a will, many of which, , survive in

common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omniprese ...

jurisdictions. Specifically, most jurisdictions still require that a will must be in writing, signed by the

testator A testator () is a person who has written and executed a last will and testament that is in effect at the time of their death. It is any "person who makes a will."Gordon Brown, ''Administration of Wills, Trusts, and Estates'', 3d ed. (2003), p. 5 ...

(the person making the will) and witnessed by at least two other persons. The

Uniform Probate Code The Uniform Probate Code ( commonly abbreviated UPC) is a uniform act drafted by National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL) governing inheritance and the decedents' estates in the United States. The primary purposes of ...

in the United States carries forward the two witness requirement of the Statute of Wills, at Section 2-502., except that a document is valid as a

holographic will A holographic will, or olographic testament, is a will and testament which is a holographic document, i.e. it has been entirely handwritten and signed by the testator. Historically, a will had to be signed by witnesses attesting to the validity ...

, whether or not witnessed, if the signature and material portions of the document are in the testator's handwriting.Uniform Probate Code s. 2-502. In

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Eng ...

, the Statute of Wills was repealed and superseded by the Wills Act 1837.

References

;Notes ;Sources * Dukeminier, Jesse and Krier, James E. ''Property, Fifth Edition'', pp. 284, 637. Aspen Publishers, 2002.

External links

Wills and trusts in the United Kingdom Acts of the Parliament of England (1485–1603) Legal history of England 1540 in law 1540 in England {{England-statute-stub

References

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