Following the 1997 amendment to s 34 of the Wills Act 1970 (WA), the court need only be satisfied on the balance of probabilities (not beyond reasonable doubt) that the deceased intended the document to constitute his will. An unsigned handwritten document can be validated under s 34 where the court is satisfied it embodies the testamentary intentions of the deceased. Paranoid beliefs or eccentric personality traits do not necessarily negate testamentary capacity where medical evidence supports coherence and orientation at the relevant time.
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