Substantive validity of a Will

Substantive validity of a Will concerns whether the Will truly reflects the testator's intentions, going beyond just the correct signatures and witnesses (formal validity). As used in the European Succession Regulation, the term includes:  

• the capacity of the person making the disposition of property upon death to make such a disposition;
• the particular causes which bar the person making the disposition from disposing in favour of certain persons or which bar a person from receiving succession property from the person making the disposition;
• the admissibility of representation for the purposes of making a disposition of property upon death;
• the interpretation of the disposition;
• fraud, duress, mistake and any other questions relating to the consent or intention of the person making the disposition.