A will is a written document that allows a person to express their last wishes during their lifetime. It may concern the transmission of his property and its distribution, but also his wishes in terms of the organization of his funeral, organ donation, etc.
Any person of full age (between 16 and 18 years old, only a bequest of half of their property is possible) who has "mental capacities allowing discernment and a sufficiently enlightened will" and the legal capacity to dispose of his property can draw up a will. He is called the testator. This writing has several advantages.
If under French law, it is not possible to totally disinherit one's children or one's surviving spouse (the compulsory heirs), it is possible to designate beneficiaries by will (natural persons, associations or foundations) with regard to the share of its patrimony which can be transmitted freely, called the "disposable quota".
Assets that can be passed on by will are called bequests. They can be immovable or movable. 3 types of bequests are possible:the universal bequest (bequeathing all of your property to a person), the bequest by universal title (bequeathing part of your property to a person) and the special bequest (bequeathing to a person specific property).
A will is also intended for people who wish to indicate their last wishes. It may be a question of specifying his wishes as to the organization of his funeral (burial or cremation), his funeral or even the desire to donate his organs after his death.
The testator also has the possibility in his writing to appoint a tutor for his children or to recognize a child.
In order to ensure that his last wishes will be carried out after his death, a person who writes a will has the possibility of designating an executor. It can be one person or several. The executor is responsible for ensuring that the wishes of the deceased are respected. He may in particular, if the testator has so specified, dispose of all or part of the real estate of the estate or even receive and invest the capital.
A will is not fixed. Whoever drafted it can at any time come back to the provisions he has put down on paper. Either by writing a new will, or by adding or removing provisions, or even by destroying it.
A will is an act that must be written. It can be done alone by the testator or drawn up before a notary.
Established before a notary, a will can take 2 forms:
A will written alone is called a “holographic will”. To be valid, it must be written entirely by hand, and not written on a computer for example. It must also mention the day, month and year of its drafting. A will must be signed.
To know: if the will mentions the recognition of a child, it must be made before a notary.
Even if the will was written alone, it is possible to ask a notary to keep it. And, as in the case of an authentic or mythical will, it is then registered by the notary in the central file of provisions of last wills (FCDDV). This file can be consulted during the settlement of an estate by any notary or by any person who holds the death certificate of the person concerned.
