The living will is the best-known legal tool to ensure that a person’s wishes are carried out. This document allows us to determine, in accordance with our last will, who will be the owner or beneficiary of our assets, or how they should be used when we are no longer here.
Therefore, understanding how to write a last will and testament is important for everyone.
Why is it advisable to make a will?
It is important to make a will before any illness or accident occurs. If it does not exist, the law will decide for us about the destination of our assets. The will is always revocable by the grantor and is only activated at the time of the signer’s death.
Making a will is a simple and inexpensive procedure that allows you to decide on the destination of the assets, and to know that it will be fulfilled when the person is no longer there. It is the best way to order wishes, since the will is legally recorded, facilitating the transmission of assets and avoiding problems for family and friends.
The most recommended, safe, and comfortable option is the open will that is made before a notary, who advises on the different possibilities of how to do it and helps in its drafting, according to the applicable legislation and the will of the testator.
Despite being called open, its content is secret to everyone except the testator, since until the moment of his death, no one can access its content unless the testator allows it. If the person wishes, he can include in his will a solidarity legacy and extend his solidarity with the causes or institutions that are important to him, without harming the legitimate inheritance of his heirs.
3 frequently asked questions regarding the will
1. How do you apply?
A will can be made at any time in adult life and up to the moment of loss of capacity. A notary must be requested.
2. What happens if a will is not made?
If there is no will, it is the law that designates the heirs, following the order of kinship: children or descendants first. Then, depending on the autonomous community, it would go to the widowed spouse or stable partner, ascendants, and collaterals up to the fourth degree.
3. Can the will be modified?
The document can be modified as many times as required. It is only necessary to meet again with the notary to rewrite the will. The document that will have legal value will be the last one.
Definitions in relation to the will
It is possible that some doubts arise regarding the vocabulary used to make a will. Here are some of the most common terms:
Inheritance
Inheritance is the set of assets, rights, and obligations that, after the death of a person, is transmitted to his successors.
Executor
It is the person designated by the testator in his will to administer his assets and fulfill his will, giving the assets the destination foreseen by him. His figure may or may not coincide with that of the splitter accountant, in charge of counting and splitting or dividing the assets among the heirs, in accordance with the orders received by the testator. The position of executor is voluntary.
Legitimate
The legitimate is the portion of assets of the inheritance to which the forced heirs are entitled by law. The forced heirs are, in the first place, the children or descendants and, failing that, the parents or ascendants. The widowed spouse, depending on the legislation, common or foral, is attributed a series of rights.
Legacy
It is the assignment, by the express will of the testator, of certain assets (a quantity of money, a property, a car, a work of art, jewelry, etc.) or rights (benefits, debt collection, patrimonial percentage, etc. ) to a natural or legal person. Within this last category are public and private institutions, which include non-profit foundations.
Legacies must be ordered in a will, where they must be expressly indicated. In no case will a legacy harm the legitimacy of the forced heirs, since their right to receive the part that corresponds to them is protected by legal imperative.
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