Why English law says will and testament when either word would do
People often assume a will once covered land and a testament covered belongings, hence the double name. Records show the two words were used interchangeably. The pairing comes from an era when English courts combined Old English with Law French for clarity, the same habit that produced breaking and entering and peace and quiet.
Written wills have ancient roots. Plutarch credited the Athenian lawmaker Solon with inventing them, originally only for men who died without an heir. For most of history, though, what happened to a dead person's property followed social custom rather than personal instructions. Even now, the broad freedom to leave anything to anyone that English and American law allows is unusual. Many civil law systems restrict it, reserving shares for certain relatives through forced heirship.
Formal requirements bend in surprising places. Some jurisdictions accept a holographic will written entirely in the maker's own hand, which needs no witnesses at all. Louisiana calls this an olographic testament and insists that it be wholly handwritten, dated and signed at the end, with any later corrections also in the maker's handwriting. England relaxes the rules for soldiers expressing their wishes on active service, and a minority of places recognise purely spoken wills, mostly for military personnel or merchant sailors, usually with limits on what can pass that way.
Couples have options too. Mirror wills are separate documents with matching provisions in each other's favour, while a joint will is one shared instrument that binds whoever survives; English law first recorded one in 1769. The opening lines, called the exordium clause, typically identify the maker, state a legal home and cancel all earlier wills.
Vocabulary distinguishes kinds of gift. A devise passes land, a bequest traditionally passes personal belongings other than money, and a legacy traditionally passes money. Whatever remains after expenses and specific gifts forms the residuary estate. Generally anyone of legal age and sound mind may write a will, with or without a lawyer.
Source: Will and testament
