Frequently asked questions about Succession

Yes. A handwritten will is valid if it is written, dated, and signed by your hand (Article 970 of the Civil Code). However, for safekeeping, it is advisable to deposit it with a notary who will also register it in the national registry of wills.

Notaries continue to advise their clients on their testamentary dispositions. In case of emergency and necessity, they may have to travel to collect an authentic will for clients who are very sick or even at the end of their life. All in compliance with the regulations and sanitary rules, which…

No. Representation in matters of succession is a legal fiction allowing the heirs of a person to take their place in an estate because they are not present (due to renunciation or death). For this mechanism to apply, there must be a plurality of branches (in practice, your mother would…

Yes. A person can freely dispose of all their assets by will, as long as they have no compulsory heirs. The beneficiaries are the children (article 913 of the Civil Code) or their descendants in the event of predecease (article 913-1 of the Civil Code), and in the absence of…

No . Indeed, article 975 of the Civil Code specifies that legatees in any capacity whatsoever, as well as their relatives or allies up to the fourth degree, cannot be chosen as witnesses. The alliance being the bond that is established by marriage, the wife of your godchild cannot be…