Wills are divided into five forms: self-written wills, agency wills, recorded wills, oral wills and notarized wills. Different forms of wills have different effective conditions. The testator should make corresponding preparations according to the type of his will and its corresponding effective conditions, so that his will has legal effect.

Conditions for entry into force of various forms of wills

Brother Zhang briefly explained five different forms of wills according to the provisions of the Inheritance Law.

1. Self-made will: The will written by the testator is a self-made will. The second paragraph of Article 17 of the Inheritance Law stipulates: "A will is written by the testator, signed and marked with the year, month and day." The conditions for the entry into force of the will from the book are:

(1) A self-written will must be written by the testator and cannot be written or recorded by others; Unable to print;

(2) It must be signed by myself, and the name cannot be signed by others; You can't use seals, fingerprints or other symbols instead of signatures.

(3) The date must be indicated.

2. Wills on behalf of books: Wills that the testator needs to entrust others to write on behalf of books due to illness, education level and other reasons are wills on behalf of books. The third paragraph of Article 17 of the Inheritance Law stipulates: "A will entrusted to another person to write a book shall be witnessed by more than two witnesses, and one of them shall write the book on his behalf, indicating the year, month and day, and shall be signed by the agent, other witnesses and the testator." The conditions for the testamentary proxy letter to take effect are:

(1), there must be more than two witnesses present.

(2) The testator must dictate the main points of the will, and then one of the witnesses will write it;

(3) After the written will is written, the testator will read it out to the testator, and the testator will approve and sign it.

(4) The date must be indicated;

(5) Signature of the ghostwriter and other witnesses present;

(6) The ghostwriter cannot be anyone other than a witness, nor can he be an heir, legatee or other person who cannot be a witness of the will according to the law;

3. Recorded will: The oral will recorded by the testator with a tape recorder is called a recorded will. Paragraph 4 of Article 17 of the Inheritance Law stipulates: "A will made in the form of audio recording shall be witnessed by more than two witnesses." The conditions for recording the entry into force of the will are:

(1) When the testator records the will, there must be more than two witnesses present.

(2) Witness can be written (dated) or recorded.

(3) The recording tape of witness shall be sealed, marked with year, month and day, and signed and sealed by the testator and the witness.

4. Oral will: The will dictated by the testator when his life is threatened is called oral will. Paragraph 5 of Article 17 of the Inheritance Law stipulates: "A testator may make an oral will in case of emergency. An oral will shall be witnessed by two or more witnesses. After the emergency is lifted, if the testator can make a will in written or recorded form, the oral will made will be invalid. " The valid conditions of oral will are:

(1) Be sure to make an oral will in case of emergency, such as frontline combat, ship distress, plane crash, typhoon, earthquake, flood, etc.

(2) The establishment of an oral will must be witnessed by two or more witnesses. A witness may testify in writing or orally afterwards.

(3) If an oral will record is made on the spot, it shall indicate the year, month and day, and be signed by the recorder and other witnesses.

(4) If the testator makes a will in other forms after the emergency is terminated, the oral will made before is invalid.

5. Notarized will: A will notarized by a notary office is a notarized will. The first paragraph of Article 17 of the Inheritance Law stipulates: "A notarized will shall be handled by the testator through the notary office." Notary organ is a judicial administrative organ that specializes in proving the authenticity and legality of legal acts, documents and facts with legal significance in China. Therefore, notarized will is a form of will with rigorous method, true content and strong evidence. Generally, a notarized will is written by the testator in front of two notaries, signed and stamped, and dated. It can also be recorded by a notary on his behalf and read to the testator after being arranged into a written will. After the testator confirms that it is correct, it shall be recorded by two notaries and signed by the testator, indicating the place and date.

It should be noted here that a notarized will is not the only effective form of a will, nor is it a necessary condition for the will to take effect. Notarization is not required for a will to take effect, but notarized wills are more effective than other forms of wills. If there is no new notarized will to overturn it, the notarized will will continue to be valid.