Who confirms a will to have sufficient legal basis?

NGUYEN KHIEM (Hai Duong City)

Reply:

Individuals have the right to make a will to dispose of their assets after death. However, the making of a will must ensure the conditions on content and form as prescribed in the 2015 Civil Code.

According to regulations, a will must be made in writing. If it cannot be made in writing, an oral will can be made.

An oral will is considered legal if the testator expresses his or her final will in front of two witnesses and immediately afterwards the witnesses must record it, sign and fingerprint it.

Within 5 days from the date the oral testator expresses his or her final will, the signature or fingerprint of the witness must be confirmed by a notary or competent authority (Article 630 of the Civil Code).

If a written will is not witnessed, the testator must write and sign the will himself.

A written will with witnesses is a case where the testator does not write the will himself but types it or asks someone else to type or write it, there must be at least 2 witnesses.

The testator signs and fingerprints in the presence of witnesses. The witnesses then confirm the signature and fingerprint of the testator (Article 634 of the 2015 Civil Code).

Notarized written will:To notarize a will, the testator will go to a notary organization and request a notary to certify the authenticity and legality of the will according to Article 56 of the 2014 Notary Law.

Certified written will:Will authentication is performed at the People's Committee at the commune level by the Chairman or Vice Chairman of the commune, who signs and notarizes and affixes the seal of the People's Committee at the commune level according to the provisions of Point e, Clause 2, Article 5, Article 12 of Decree 23/2015/ND-CP.