A will was drafted by a notary who read it to the testator and authenticated by him but the notarial authentication noted that the testator read the will herself, it lacked a serial number, the will was not recorded in the notary’s record of wills, and the fee for drafting the will was not stated.
The Court held that the defects were not in the fundamental elements of the will, and therefore it is valid. There are several manners of drafting a will, one of which is a notarial will. The fundamental elements of a will are that the will was made before a notary or submitted to the notary by the testator himself. Israeli Notaries Law and Regulations add requirements such as specifying the serial number and making the payment for the will, but these are not deemed fundamental elements. Here, the will was drafted by a notary, duly read to deceased, and therefore the fundamental elements of the will were met. Therefore, although there was a defect in the conduct of the notary, these are not fundamental defects that cannot be amended and the will is valid.