A testament is the way in which a person wishes his or her property to be inherited, once he or she dies, and is made in a public deed; the testator can inherit the following to relatives, friends or acquaintances:

– Properties
– Money
– Vehicles
– Works of Art
– Jewelry
– Business
– Houses, apartments, etc.

It is important to make a testament, since this avoids family conflicts or conflicts with close relatives, since they must respect the last will of the person who bequeathed their property in full use of their faculties and using the respective legal means so that the testament is valid before the law.

In a testament, a person can define universal heirs to distribute assets equally, or define the bequest of specific assets, for example: indicate that a house will pass to a son and that a business will be inherited by a grandson.

Within our legal system there are two types of testament, the open testament is that which is granted by the testator before a notary public who must draft the testament in a public deed in the presence of 3 witnesses who. Now, with respect to the subject of the closed testament, this is drafted by the testator himself, which means that its content is totally confidential. Its main characteristics are: must sign the deed together with the testator, thus accrediting the content of the will.

In addition to this, the open testament, once granted, must be sent by the Notary to the Notarial Archive. In this way, once the testator dies and a succession process is initiated, the competent authority will require that the Notarial Archive certifies whether or not there is a will granted by the testator, in order to comply with the will expressed therein.

– It can be handwritten or computerized.
– It only bears the testator’s signature.
– It must be presented before a Notary Public in order to be legally valid. It must be in a sealed envelope.
– Such presentation before a Notary Public must be made with at least two witnesses.
– The Notary must add to the cover of the envelope, a public deed stating that he received the will from the testator and if it has any erasures or annotations.
– The envelope and the public deed are signed by the Notary, the testator and the witnesses.
– Once these formalities are completed, the testament and the public deed will remain in the hands of the Notary, or they will be returned to the testator, who will keep them as he/she deems best.
– A closed testament can only be opened after the testator’s death and before a Civil Judge.

It is important to know the scope of a testament, as well as its advantages and disadvantages for the testator and his future heirs or legatees, so that the person interested in making a will can choose which type of will is more convenient according to his will.

If you require advice on inheritance law, ERP Lawyers offers you a team specialized in this area. Do not hesitate to contact us at info@erplawyers.com !