The will - Making arrangements

What are the conditions for drawing up a will?

To be legally valid, your will must meet certain conditions. If it does not, it may be annulled in the event of litigation.
When you draw up your will, you must, of course, be of sound mind. Your consent must also be free and informed, i.e. you must not write your will under pressure. Be careful, too, if the person concerned is too old or suffers from an illness impairing his or her faculties!
You must also have the legal capacity to test (make a will), which is not the case if you are under 16 or under guardianship.
Contrary to popular belief, a will can be modified as many times as necessary. In this case, it is essential to write "I hereby revoke all previous provisions. A will can also be revoked at any time up until death. This is an absolute right, and no clause in the will can prevent it. You can always change your mind!

What are the different types of will?

There are, in fact, three types of will.
With a holograph will, you express your wishes on plain paper. To be valid, this will must be entirely handwritten, dated and signed. Compliance with these three cumulative conditions obviously determines the validity of the will. You must then hand it in to your notary for safekeeping. Your notary will then register it in the Fichier Central des Dispositions de Dernières Volontés. At the time of death, this file is queried to determine whether the person had made any last wills and testaments.
Authentic wills are drawn up by two notaries or one notary and two witnesses. It is drawn up by one of the notaries under the dictation of the testator. With this type of will, post-death formalities are simpler. There is also the mystical will, which is hardly ever used anymore.

Is there complete freedom

in drawing up a will?

You do not have complete freedom in drafting the clauses of your will. You must respect the "réserve héréditaire" if you have children, known as heirs reservataires, or your spouse in the absence of descendants. In the presence of these reserved heirs, there is a part of the estate that cannot be touched: the reserve. Reserved heirs must receive a minimum share of the inheritance.
On the other hand, you can freely dispose of the part known as the available portion.
You also have the possibility of taking extra-patrimonial measures, such as organizing your funeral, recognizing a natural child... hence the usefulness of a will! Be careful, however, not to make provisions that would prove unworkable. Some people cannot receive assets by will. This is the case of a child's guardian, a doctor who would inherit from a person he has treated, or a notary with his client. The aim, of course, is to avoid any abuse of influence.

The FCDDV
The Fichier Central des Dispositions des Derniers Volontés (FCDDV) is a national file containing all last wills and testaments received and kept by notaries. The notary in charge of the estate can thus trace and obtain any will drawn up by the deceased, even if it has been deposited with another notary.

Stéphanie Swiklinski