Can a suicide note be a valid will?

Question

Hypothetically, if someone leaves instructions in a note for dividing up their savings and/or assets (i.e. a will), and subsequently commits suicide with the note on their person, would this note be considered a legally binding will in the absence of an actual will? Mainly wondering for the UK but other jurisdictions welcome.

Answer 1

australia

Depends

While each state has formal requirements for a valid will, the law also provides for judicial discretion. This has included unsent text messages.

If the document or verbal statement clear shows testamentary intent, it will be treated as a will or as a codicil to an existing will.

Answer 2

switzerland

Maybe, if the formal requirements are met. A will has very strong formal requirements to be binding; it must either have been signed in front of a notary and/or at least two witnesses or it must have been fully written by hand. In this case, if the (later) deceased has written the note by hand, dated it properly and signed it, it will probably be considered valid.

Answer 3

france

Yes, provided the conditions listed at article 970 of the civil code are respected:

Le testament olographe ne sera point valable s'il n'est écrit en entier, daté et signé de la main du testateur : il n'est assujetti à aucune autre forme.

A holographic will is not valid unless entirely written [by hand], dated and signed from the hand of the decedent. It is subject to no other condition of form.

In addition, there are conditions of content (in particular one cannot entirely disinherit one’s children). Those apply to notarized wills as well (though, of course, notarized wills will have been read by a legal professional who can alert to deficiencies in that regard).

Answer 4

united-states

The general rule in a majority of U.S. jurisdictions (about 27 states) is that a document can function as a will without being witnessed if the material provisions of the will are in the handwriting of the person allegedly making a will and if the language of the writing indicates an intent to direct the disposition on that person's property after their death. A document of this type is called a "holographic will". Two more U.S. states recognize holographic wills made in exigent circumstances, and seven more states beyond these twenty-nine recognize holographic wills that were valid where they were made. At least ten U.S. states do not recognize holographic wills under any circumstances.

Not every U.S. jurisdiction allows holographic wills, and in the other direction, a few U.S. states allow a court to dispense with the handwriting requirement if there is a clear intent to make a disposition of property effective at death. A state by state breakdown is available here.

The fact that someone is suicidal or contemplating suicide at the time will not usually invalidate a will. There are basically three things that, if not present, can invalidate a will which has the requisite formalities (such as being in the handwriting of the person making it):

1. The person must have testamentary capacity, which means that they know who the "natural objections of their bounty" (i.e. family, friends, loved ones, charities that they have favored) are, that they have a general idea of what they own, and that they understand what their will purports to do with their property at their death, and

2. If the person making the will is suffering from hallucinations, the hallucinations may not influence the dispositions of property made in the will, and

3. The person must not be subject to undue influence from someone else (i.e. their will-power must not be overcome by someone else causing them to change their dispositions of property made in the will).

While it is conceivable that one of these three conditions might not be met in some particular case by a suicidal individual, in general, none of these three requirements is inconsistent with being suicidal.

united-kingdom

In contrast, in Scotland, England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, unwitnessed holographic wills written after 1 August 1995 are invalid. So, in those jurisdictions, the unwitnessed suicide note would not constitute a valid will. Prior to that date, holographic wills written in Scotland were valid in the United Kingdom.