An informal will prepared on a will kit form but unsigned by the testator will not be admitted to probate under s 9 of the Wills Act 1997 (Vic) where the evidence does not establish that the testator regarded the document as complete or final, particularly where the testator had awareness of formal requirements and the failure to sign cannot be attributed to inadvertence. An informal will that contains no dispositive provisions but was intended by the testator to have immediate effect as a will may be admitted to probate as a revocative but non-dispositive testamentary instrument, with the estate administered on intestacy. The 'adoption or acknowledgement' language in earlier cases does not impose a freestanding requirement beyond the statutory test of intention.
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