Registration of Wills in Zimbabwe

The Master of the High Court maintains a Register of Wills. Therefore, every deed being or purporting to be a will, codicil or other testamentary instrument of any person before or after their demise should be registered with the Master of the High Court.

Once a testator settles his or her Last Will and Testament, they should register the Will with the Master of the High Court. A Testator is not precluded from advising his or her confidants about the existence of the Will or its registration number, if same has been accepted by the Master of the High Court.

Issues to do with the validity of a will, codicil or other testamentary instrument are not issues which are determined by the Master of the High Court, but are issues which are statutorily reserved for determination by the High Court. A mental capacity challenge for instance, of necessity is one that goes to the validity of a Will which is a matter for determination by the court. see Hall v Hall & Others 2016 (2) ZLR 404 (H).

The Master of the High Court is therefore required by law to register a document which purports to be a will, codicil or other testamentary instrument. For purposes of registration of a Will, the Master of the High Court is authorised and required by law to open or cause to be opened every such will, codicil or other testamentary instrument which may be sealed up.

Where a document presented to the Master of the High Court appears to meet all the requirements of section 8 of the Wills Act [Chapter 6:06] which deals with the formalities for a valid Will in Zimbabwe, there is no need for a ceremony regarding its registration. see Akinjide – Obonyo & Another v The Master of the High Court & Others 2020 (2) ZLR 380 (H).