Death is inevitable for every human being. Death is not an easy subject to talk about, and planning for potential death can be frightening and upsetting for many. However, from a legal point of view, death is a very important fact that leads to the creation of a special type of legal relationship between the testator and the heirs. In the Macedonian legislation the will is foreseen as one of the legal mechanisms by which inheritance legal relations can be regulated. The will is perhaps the most important document you will make, because it allows you to freely choose your heirs and what they will inherit.

 What is a will?

 In the simplest terms, a will is a personal declaration of will by which the testator decides how his/hers property will be distributed after death. A will is a document with deferred reprecussions because it begins to produce effect at the moment of the testator’s death. During your lifetime, you can change and add to the will or you can even make several wills. The will can be revoked at any time by physical destruction, by disposal (sale, gift) of the property that is the subject of the will or by drawing up a new will. For the will to be valid, it must contain certain elements prescribed by the Inheritance Law. Otherwise, if the will is drawn up against the law, the will is not considered applicable and the inheritance legal relations in such case are regulated in accordance with the rules of legal succession.

 What should the will contain?

Regardless of the type and form of the will, the content of each will should contain two elements: 1) The property subject to testamentary succession and 2) The testamentary heirs. At the same time, the will must contain the inviolable will of the testator regarding these two elements. This means that the testator should determine the heirs and the property that should belong to them in the event of his/hers death by free will, without threat, coercion or fraud. Otherwise, if the will of the testator is in question, the will can potentially be declared null and void and in such a case will not produce legal effect.

Additionally, as a condition for the validity of all forms of will is the age and capacity of judgment of the testator. According to the Inheritance Law, a will can be made by any person capable of reasoning who has reached the age of 15. However, a loss of judgment that would have occurred since the will was made does not affect its validity. For these reasons, it is useful to indicate the date the will was drawn up, although the date is not considered a mandatory element in all forms of will.

Why is a will important?

With the will, you can determine that your heirs will be persons outside the legal heirs, which practically means that potential heirs can be: friends, distant relatives, extramarital partner, etc. With the will, you can also specify a person to whom the inheritance will belong if the designated heir dies before them, or if the designated heir renounces the inheritance, or if they are unworthy to inherit (so-called substitutions). Also, the will can leave one or more legacies.

The will may burden the person to whom the benefit of the bequest is left with some duty. At the same time, the will can set conditions or deadlines, as well as determine the executor of the will, i.e. a person who will ensure that the last will of the testator is carried out the way the testator wants.

One of the main characteristics of the will is that the will cannot completely exclude the legal heirs from the inheritance. This means that in cases where the testator disposed of all the property in the will and did not include the necessary legal heirs, they have the right to request a reduction of the testamentary dispositions, in order to satisfy their necessary share of the inheritance. Hence, the will is a good mechanism that protects both the legal heirs and also allows to leave a certain benefit to other persons, who could not inherit if the rules of legal succession were applied.

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For those choosing to make a will, there are many options available. In any case, it is advisable to seek appropriate legal assistance from an attorney, to make sure that your will for the disposal of the property is going to be consistently implemented.