Legislation permits the possibility for the succession patrimony to be transmitted not only in the name of law, but also at the author’s wish expressed through a will. So, succession transmission can be legal or testamentary. The two forms do not exclude each other. The will is a complex document. It includes heritages, abdications, charges, revocation of other wills, etc.

Through will, the testator can dispose of all his movables and immobile goods, leaving a universal legacy. If he disposes only of a part of his goods, we talk about a transfer by universal title. Also, transmitting clearly determined goods, like the car, with the ‘X’ registration number, is legacy under particular title.

Although, according to law any natural person can dispose of his patrimony goods, nobody is obliged to leave an inheritance. Still, this disposition right can be exerted only within some limits established by law. These limits are in favor of close relatives of the deceased, called salvo successors: the surviving spouse, descendants and parents. The limits also concern the liberalities made by the deceased during his life time, namely donated goods, and they have effect regardless of the testator or the beneficiary’s will.

Wills must be made so they respect the limits established in favor of salvo successors. As a result, if they do not exist, the deceased’s disposition right is limitless. In case they exist, the patrimony is divided into the salvo (which is about to be inherited by the entitled successors, even against the testator’s will) and the available quantity, which is the part the testator can freely dispose of. The salvo quantum is established for each category of successors separately. The surviving spouse’s salvo is half of what he/she would have got as a legal successor. In case of descendants, quota differs based on how many descendants effectively come to succession. Only one descendant takes a half of patrimony, two take two thirds and three or more take three quarters. In case of parents, the share is a half for both, and a quarter for one of them. The relatives taken into account must meet all conditions to be successors and must have accepted the succession.

An essential condition for the will to be valid is the testator’s discernment. The will is a revocable document; it can be revoked until the last moment of life. After the testator’s death, the first who can attack the will are the salvo successors, if their right has been trenched upon. Of course, like any other document, a will can be attacked by all interested persons, usually those whose rights are affected, motivated by the fact that the testator lacked discernment, or his consent was vitiated when making the will. That is why public notary request medical papers to attest that the testator owns discernment when legalizing a will. After the decease, it is very hard to prove that the testator has had discernment at a given time.

Testamentary liberty is not absolute, because law imperatively establishes boundaries, the most important being the salvo institution.

Also see Legal Recruiters: Private Practice London: Fraud Strategies