By means of the will, a person can express his will about who will be his heirs, the specific distribution of the assets or guarantee the life usufruct of the assets to the spouse.
Now, what types of wills are there and what deadlines apply to contest them? Are they the same in all the autonomous communities of Spain? We give you the answers in this article. In addition, we help you differentiate between wills and succession agreements
Types of wills
In Spain there are some Communities that have, in matters of inheritance (wills), a common civil regime and others that have a statutory or special civil regime, This implies that depending on the territory there are specific and different civil norms.
Despite these differences, we are going to see in this blog the essential things you should know about wills.
The will can be común o special. The commons are in turn divided into three modalities: open, closed and holographic and within the specials we find: military, maritime and granted in a foreign country. We are going to see below the most common characteristics of common wills:
Open will
An open will is one in which the testator expresses his last wish orally or in writing before the Notaryand he is aware of its content.
The notary will be in charge of drafting the document and attesting that all legal requirements have been met in its formalization.
Only in the event of danger of death as a result of illness, fatal accident or catastrophe is the possibility of formalizing an open will without the presence of a notary public.
Closed will
This type of will is also constituted before a notary, but unlike the open one, delivered in a sealed envelope and its content cannot be knownr until after the testator's death.
The closed will must be typewritten or handwritten, and must be signed by the person making the will.
It must be guaranteed that the last wills contained in the closed will will be kept secret until the moment the inheritance is processed.
Holographic will
The holographic will is one that it is written in handwriting by the person who makes the will. It must be signed and must indicate the full date on which it was drawn up.
This type of will does not require that it be constituted before notary but it is imperative that I know protocolize.
In order to formalize the document, that is, take it to a notary public, interested persons must do so within certain periods of time that vary depending on the Autonomous Community.
What is the deadline to contest a will?
The general term for heirs to contest a will is 15 years counting from the moment they have knowledge of it, provided that they consider that one of the reasons that the law includes for the will to be considered null, for example:
- That the will was made by duress or without having the legal capacity to do so.
- That they have not respected the legitimate quotas of the heirs.
- That one of the forced heirs has been omitted in the will
- That the will has formal defects in its writing.
Succession agreements, what are they and how are they different from wills?
Succession agreements regulate succession through a commitment between two or more people regarding the destination of their assets once they have passed away, and must be constituted before a notary public.
The main difference between probate agreements and wills is the irrevocability of the pact, since to render it without effect, all the parties that once granted it must agree to it again.
On the other hand, the succession agreements prevail over the will and this will not be valid if it contradicts the succession agreements.
An important advantage when it comes to establishing succession agreements is that in some territories giving an inheritance while living is taxed as an inheritance, and not as a donation, which influences when paying less taxes.
It is important to note that succession agreements are not regulated in the Civil Code and can only be established in those Autonomous Communities that include it in their regional or special law, such as Aragon, Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, Galicia and the Basque Country. .
In any case, whatever the type of will you decide to use, it is advisable to always have specialized advice both in its drafting and in its processing. On Capellas we can help you.