Will

The will – concept / Measures that can be ordered by will / Attacking the will / How we can help you

Will – concept

A will is a unilateral act issued by a person and is to take legal effect at the time of death.

In general, a will is a document that sets out the rules by which a particular inheritance is to be dealt with.

In the absence of a will, a person’s inheritance is debated according to the rules applicable to legal inheritance.

For more information on the rules of legal inheritance, please visit the Legal Inheritance section.

Measures that can be ordered by will

In general, the person who makes a will decides that certain of his or her assets will go to a certain person (e.g. a house, land, certain jewellery, etc.).

A number of other measures can also be ordered in a will:

• instructions for the place of burial;
• instructions on how to manage certain assets;
• procedures for setting up a testamentary foundation;
• recognition of a child;
• appointment of an executor.

Attacking the will

In certain situations, measures adopted by means of a will may affect the rights of some of the heirs (e.g. disinheritance of a person, removal of an asset from the rules of legal inheritance, violation of the reserved portion of the estate, etc.).

In these situations, affected heirs can challenge the provisions of the will in various ways:

• contesting the will on grounds relating to the testator’s capacity to realise the effects of his actions;
• contesting the will on the grounds that the testator was negatively influenced by a particular person;
• contesting the will on grounds of forgery;
• contesting the will for breach of the reserved portion of the estate.

How we can help you

Our lawyers can provide you with legal advice on any issue relating to the validity and/or effectiveness of a particular will:

• informing you of your rights under a will;
• establishing the effects of the will as far as you are concerned;
• challenging the will before the courts.

More information about will