Inheritances are often a
controversial issue in families
, for this reason many people choose to
leave a written will
to
avoid any family dispute
.
Sometimes, the will is made to
displace one
of those who should inherit, or to
that one of them receives more than others.
But it could also happen that it is a question of including heirs that are not provided for in the law.
In this context, doubts may arise as to what possibilities exist to
modify this distribution of assets
if the person wishes to benefit an institution or someone who is not a member of the family.
What does the law say?
The will is a document by which a person leaves all or part of his estate to another/s after his death.
Photo Shutterstock
What part of the inheritance can be freely disposed of?
The assets of a deceased person are transmitted to the "heirs", who are expressly determined by law.
However, one can
dispose of his assets after his death
and benefit, in particular, one of the people he inherits or third parties.
This possibility will depend on whether or not there are what are called
“forced” heirs
.
The forced heirs are those people who cannot be excluded from the inheritance (
children, spouse and parents of the deceased person
), except in exceptional cases.
When there are forced heirs, the part of the assets that can be disposed of freely is reduced, in general it is
a third of the entire patrimony of the testator
(the other two thirds correspond, precisely, to the forced heirs).
If there are no forced heirs, the inheritance is transmitted to
collateral relatives
(brothers, uncles, nephews, cousins), but these relatives
can be displaced
by the will of the testator through a
will
and without any limitation.
When there are forced heirs, the owner may only freely dispose of a third of all his assets.
Photo: File.
In what situations is it important to make a will?
The will is a document by which a person (the testator) leaves all or part of his estate to another/s after his death.
If this is not done, all forced heirs receive the inheritance in equal parts.
"When making a will,
it will be decided to whom to leave the assets, if it will be to one or more people
and the proportions will be chosen," described the president of the Tariff Commission of the College of Notaries of CABA,
María Celeste Gerarduzzi
to
Clarín
.
When making a will, the holder can dispose of
up to 33% of the value of his estate
and allocate it to people who are not forced heirs.
As in the following cases, for example:
.
When the owner of the property
has lived with a person and does not want to leave her unprotected
after her death.
Since the cohabitation union does not grant succession rights, if there is no will, the forced heirs can leave their cohabitant without any property.
.
If a person
has no heirs
, a will is the only way to
prevent his inheritance from becoming vacant
and passing into the domain of the state.
With the will, the person without heirs can designate friends or the person they want as such.
Even bequeath them to public good institutions that you want to promote.
.
When the owner of the inheritance wants
to benefit one of his forced heirs
(either because he is sick, because he was the one who assisted him in recent years, because he is much younger than his brothers and has to pay the studies, etc.)
How much does it cost to make a will?
There are two types of will, by
public deed
or by
holograph
(written by the hand of the testator).
The
first option is made before a notary public
who writes the text based on the will expressed by the testator.
The notary gives a copy to the person who made the will.
The
original is kept in the notary office for 5 years
and, after that time, it is transferred to the Protocol Archive of the College of Notaries.
In this way, it is prevented from being lost
.
The testament is also registered in the Registry of Acts of Last Will of the College of Notaries.
This allows that, when the succession is opened, the judge can consult the records and notify the heirs of its existence.
In this case there will be
fixed expenses,
whose approximate costs are:
Registration in the Registry of Acts of Last Will,
$4,700
Deed right,
$2,400
Fojas Matrix, performance,
$2,040
Processing of registrations,
$15,500
Meanwhile, the
notary's fees
range from $130,000 to $450,000, depending on the complexity and the assets involved in the will.
The presence of two witnesses who know the testator is required.
But there is
another alternative
for those who cannot or do not want to sign before a notary public, which
is free
.
It is the holographic or handwritten will.
In this case,
the risk is that the document is lost
and/or that nobody finds out about its existence, but technically, the validity of both is the same.
In this case, the person can have it done on any piece of paper with the particularity that it must begin and end with their own handwriting.
It must say where he is, the date and what he wants to do with his inheritance, as well as be signed by himself.
At the end, the notary Gerarduzzi stressed that "it is important to clarify that
even if there is a will
, when the testator dies,
it is still essential to carry out the testamentary succession"
.
LN
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