02 | The will written on a frozen fish packet

A frozen fish packet. An unsent text. A tractor fender. Courts have accepted all of these as valid wills.

You want to write a will and make sure that your assets go to those who you think deserve your generosity.

So, how can you make sure the will is binding? Does it need to be a formal document, printed out and signed with a pen? Or can a valid will be a word document, an email or text message? Can it be written on a frozen fish packet or the wall in your home?

Wills expert Professor Pru Vines of UNSW walks through the strangest cases courts have accepted, including a British man who left his entire estate to charity on fish and mince pie packaging, a dying Canadian farmer who scratched his wishes into a tractor after it rolled on him, an unsent phone text upheld in Queensland, and a woman who recorded her will on a smartphone while chastising her children.

The Law Report's special series Over My Dead Body looks at how courts decide whether an unconventional or irregular will is or isn't valid.

A warning, this conversation makes multiple references to suicide, so take care when listening.

It also does not represent or replace legal advice.