SHOULD I MAKE A WILL?

The answer to this question must necessarily be affirmative. The will is not an act of closing our life, but on the contrary, it is a forecast for when that closing of our life occurs, and since we never know when it will happen, it is desirable to have a will made that gives a satisfactory response to the interests that we can leave once deceased, and that can be very different depending on the person. The more problematic the situation that we can leave when we die, the more convenient it is to leave a will.

The advantage of making a will must be analyzed from the perspective of what happens if there is no will. It is common to hear that a person has died without heirs, when in reality what is meant is that a person has died without leaving a will, since there are always heirs, which happens to be heirs that are not of their choice, but determined by law. In the case of Catalan Law, in the absence of a will, the children and descendants inherit in the first place, respecting the usufruct of the widow or partner of the deceased. You have read correctly, the common-law couple is considered for succession purposes in the same way as the widower. In the absence of children and descendants, the spouse or partner inherits. In the absence of the above, the parents, and in the absence of the above, successively, the brothers, uncles and cousins. In the absence of all this, he inherits the Generalitat de Catalunya.

If we make a will, the named heir will be at our choice, with no other limit than respect for legitimate ones, but by making a will we can regulate a much more varied list of issues. Thus, by way of example, we can appoint guardians of our children, establish the way in which guardians exercise their position, impose obligations on the heirs, order that assets pass successively to several people, precautions in the event that the named heir does not may or may not want to accept the inheritance or cannot make a will, appoint people in charge of the distribution of the inheritance, establish how the expenses of the inheritance should be distributed, prohibit disposing of the assets of the inheritance, prohibit judicial disputes….

To make a will, it is only necessary to have clear ideas, and to be over 14 years of age, for which a consultation with the notary is essential, since it allows our will to be manifested in a legal way, preserved forever with absolute confidentiality, in addition to bring to light certain issues that perhaps we had not anticipated.

The content of a will will vary greatly depending on the situation of each one. In the case of couples with minor children, it is normal to strengthen the position of the widower, and in the case of lack of both parents, establish who will administer the children's assets. In the case of divorced persons, the most recurring concern is that the ex-spouse does not have any decision-making capacity over the children's assets. In the case of older people, their concern is focused on making a distribution so that their children do not argue over the inheritance. In the case of entrepreneurs, the will intends that inheritance is not an obstacle to the continuity of the company created with so much effort.

Making a will is very cheap, if we value what is achieved with it. A standard cost can be estimated at 50 euros, including VAT.