If you don't want to leave your loved ones in a mess after you die, inheritance planning and, above all, making a will are very important. Inheriting with or without a will does not work the same. Inheriting without a will is a usa number list headache and often ends up in court arguing over who gets to keep the grandfather clock. That's why it's so important to make a will and leave everything tied up to avoid family conflicts in the future.
In addition, you can change your will as many times as you want, it is not something you can only do once in a lifetime. If you have doubts about how to make a will or what requirements are required, or you have to process the inheritance of a family member, it is best to put yourself in the hands of professionals, such as at Leggado Abogado de Inheritances who are specialized in the subject and will resolve all your doubts. Your only concern will be to provide the documentation they ask for, they will take care of the rest. We explain the difference between processing an inheritance with or without a will .
First of all, we need to know what a will is . The answer is given to us by article 667 of the Civil Code: « The act by which a person disposes of all or part of his property after his death is called a will .»
The second question we must answer is: Who can make a will? Anyone who is not expressly prohibited from doing so by law may make a will.
Once we are clear about what and who, we must know how:
A will is a very personal act, and cannot be made by fraud, deceit or violence, otherwise it would be void. There are different ways of making a will.
We have common wills (holographic, open and closed) and special wills (military, maritime and made in a foreign country). The most common way to make a will is before a notary, although the rest are also valid, as long as they meet the legal requirements.
Once we have these concepts clear, we can focus our attention on testate succession . When a person dies, we must know whether or not he or she made a will. To do this, it is necessary to request the last wills . If the deceased has made a will, you must request a copy of the last will made at the corresponding Notary Office.
If there is a will, this makes the process much easier, since the entire process of acceptance and distribution of assets will be carried out according to the will of the deceased . The testate succession will only be limited by the forced heirs who will always have the right to a part of the inheritance, but the rest is decided by the deceased.
In our legal system, testamentary succession is preferred over intestate succession . In fact, intestate succession is subsidiary.
Once we know that there is a will, it is essential to make an inventory of all the assets, rights and obligations of the deceased. This step is very important since once the inventory is made, the heirs will decide whether to accept or renounce the inheritance. A correct valuation of all the assets of the inheritance must be made. At this stage it is important to have the help of a professional expert in the matter. If you want more information, we leave it here .
Next comes the phase of dividing the inheritance . A partition book is drawn up, that is, the assets are distributed among the heirs (always taking into account the wishes of the deceased). This document must be accepted by all the heirs.