What are the grounds for invalidating a will? Broadly, there are two kinds of grounds for revoking a will:
Technical grounds for invalidating a will – formal defects in the way the will was drawn up, in violation of the provisions of the Inheritance Law. In certain cases, a will can still be upheld and given effect despite technical defects.
Substantive grounds for invalidating a will – material defects in the making of the will, covering everything that touches on the testator’s free will and his capacity to make a will, as well as the substantive content of the will’s provisions. Unlike technical defects, a will tainted by a substantive defect cannot be cured.
Technical grounds for invalidating a will
Sections 19, 20, 22, and 23 of the Inheritance Law set out the requirements for making each type of will: a handwritten will, a witnessed will, a will made before an authority, and an oral will (a deathbed or “shchiv mera” will).
For example, a handwritten will must be written entirely by the testator, including the date and signature, while a witnessed will must, among other things, be signed by the testator before two competent adult witnesses.
Where the formal requirements for the specific type of will were not properly met, that failure can constitute a technical ground for invalidating the will.
At the same time, Section 25 of the Inheritance Law allows the court to uphold a will that has a technical defect, subject to two cumulative conditions: the court has no doubt that the will reflects the free and true wishes of the testator, and all of the will’s basic elements are present.
Each type of will has its own basic elements:
Handwritten will
The will was written entirely, from beginning to end, in the testator’s own handwriting.
Witnessed will
The will was made in writing (not necessarily by hand; it may also be printed), and the will was presented before two witnesses.
Will made before an authority
The will was made before an authority by the testator himself, or was submitted to the authority by the testator himself.
Oral will
The will was stated orally by the testator himself, before two witnesses who understood his language, while he lay ill in bed or when, in circumstances that justified it, he believed he was facing death.
Substantive grounds for invalidating a will
The substantive grounds for annulling a will concern defects in the testator’s mental or cognitive capacity to make the will according to his free and true wishes, or defects in the content of the will’s provisions.
Section 26 of the Inheritance Law covers situations in which the testator was not competent to make the will: because he was a minor, or had been declared legally incompetent, or could not understand the nature of a will, meaning his impaired condition kept him from grasping that he was signing a will, with everything that entails.
Section 30(a) of the Inheritance Law: a testamentary provision made as a result of duress, threat, undue influence, trickery, or fraud.
Section 30(b) of the Inheritance Law: a testamentary provision made as a result of a mistake. If it can be clearly determined what the testator would have directed in his will but for the mistake, the court is authorized to correct the provision accordingly. If that is not possible, the provision is void.
Regarding grounds for invalidation tied to revocation under Section 30(a) or 30(b) of the Law, note Section 31, which provides that “if one year has passed from the day the duress, threat, undue influence or trickery ceased to operate on the testator, or from the day the testator learned of the fraud or mistake, and the testator had the power to revoke the will but did not do so, the defect will no longer suffice to revoke or amend the provision of the will.”
Section 33 of the Inheritance Law: an unintelligible provision, that is, a provision so unclear that it cannot be understood to whom the testator left his estate, or what he left, or what the provision means.
Section 34 of the Inheritance Law: a provision whose execution is illegal, immoral, or impossible.
Section 35 of the Inheritance Law: a provision that benefits the person who drafted the will, witnessed its making, or otherwise took part in making it, except in the case of an oral will.
The burden of proof when raising grounds for invalidating a will
The burden of proving that a will is invalid rests on the person who objects to the will and seeks to strike it down, in keeping with the basic rule that the testator’s wishes, as expressed in his will, are to be honored.
An objector must therefore not only base the objection on grounds of invalidity under the Inheritance Law, but must also prove it with significant evidence capable of convincing the court that there is real cause to invalidate the will.
* Updated for 2026
