What Constitutes a Legally Valid Will?

Duy Thinh

09:58, 11/07/2024

In accordance with the provisions of civil law, a will is the expression of an individual's intent to transfer their assets to another person after death. Concurrently, the law specifies that the nature of a will is a unilateral legal act; therefore, the creation of a will must comply with the legal provisions concerning inheritance by will to ensure its legal validity.

1. Conditions for the Validity of a Will

For a will to be legally effective, the first condition that must be met is that the person making the will must adhere to the legal requirements. Article 625 of the Civil Code 2015 (hereinafter referred to as Civil Code 2015) stipulates the conditions for the person making the will as follows:

- An adult who meets the conditions specified in point a, clause 1 of Article 630 of the Civil Code 2015 has the right to make a will to dispose of their assets;- A person from fifteen years old to under eighteen years old is permitted to make a will if their parents or guardians agree to the making of the will.

Simultaneously, in accordance with Article 630 of the Civil Code 2015, at the time of making the will, the testator must be of sound mind, not deceived, threatened, or coerced; the content of the will must not violate the law, social ethics, and its form must comply with legal regulations.

2. Form of the Will

According to Article 627 of the Civil Code 2015, a will must be in written form. If a written will cannot be made, an oral will is permissible. The person making the written will may choose one of the following four forms:

- Will in written form without witnesses;- Will in written form with witnesses;- Will in written form notarized;- Will in written form certified.

3. Content of the Will

Article 631 of the Civil Code 2015 stipulates that a will must contain the following main contents:

- Date, month, year of the will;- Full name and residence of the testator;- Full name of individuals, agencies, and organizations inheriting the estate;- The estate to be divided and the location of the estate.

In addition to these contents, the will may include other contents. The will must not contain abbreviations or symbols, and if the will has multiple pages, each page must be numbered and signed or thumb-printed by the testator. If there are erasures or corrections in the will, the testator or the witness of the will must sign next to the erasures or corrections.

4. Rights of the Testator

The testator has the following rights:

- Designate heirs; disinherit an heir;- Allocate portions of the estate to each heir;- Allocate a part of the estate for donation or worship;- Assign obligations to the heirs;- Designate the custodian of the will, the manager of the estate, and the distributor of the estate.

These content are stipulated in Article 626 of the Civil Code 2015.

5. Validity of the Will

The regulations on the validity of a will are specified in Article 643 of the Civil Code 2015. Specifically:

Article 643. Validity of the Will

1. A will takes effect from the moment of the inheritance opening.

2. A will is wholly or partly invalid in the following cases:

a) The heir under the will died before or simultaneously with the testator;

b) The agency or organization designated as heir no longer exists at the time the inheritance opens.

If there are multiple heirs under the will, and one of them dies before or simultaneously with the testator, or one of the designated agencies or organizations no longer exists at the time the inheritance opens, only the part of the will related to that individual, agency, or organization is invalid.

3. A will is invalid if the estate left to the heir is no longer available at the time the inheritance opens; if the estate left to the heir is only partially available, the will is valid concerning the remaining part of the estate.

4. If part of the will is illegal, but it does not affect the validity of other parts, only that part is invalid.

5. When a person leaves multiple wills for a single asset, only the latest will is valid.

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