IHTM12046 - Wills: privileged will

A privileged will is exempt from complying with S9 Wills Act 1837 and can only be made by a member of HM Forces engaged in actual military service or in conditions similar to actual military service. The privilege extends to merchant seamen and others in conditions similar to actual military service.

A privileged will can be oral or written.

S9 Wills Act 1937 does not apply to Scotland, but the Roman law in favour of the testamentum militare, which dispenses with formalities for wills executed in conditions of military service, may be part of the law of Scotland. This matter is not conclusively settled Stuart v. Stuart, 1942 S.C. 510.