The Spanish are increasingly more responsible when it comes to making a will. According to data from the Consejo General of the Notariado (Notaries Society) young people are losing their fear of appearing before the public notary and drafting a will. In these cases, thinking the worst means performing an act of good sense which will benefit your family and will give you peace of mind. The price (less than 60 euros) is a drop in the ocean compared to the expenses that the absence of this kind of document can lead to.

The act of disposing of your estate after your death prevents the inheritance process from becoming complicated and expensive. Civil Law stipulates that, in the event of a person dying intestate, the widower or widow receives a third of the deceased�s estate, while the remaining two thirds is distributed among the offspring.
The notary is a key figure in the process, responsible for overseeing compliance with all the legal requirements, as well as for interpreting the will and clearing up any technical or terminological imprecisions which might jeopardise the will of the bequeather and the rights of the heirs.

Socini clause
This is the most common model in Spain. It appears in wills made by married couples with children. Since joint wills do not exist, the notarial document is always individual and personal. The Socini clause is commonly known as a will from one to another, although this definition is not altogether exact. The clause means that in the event of the death of a spouse, the surviving spouse will receive universal usufruct of the estate. In other words, the widower or widow will enjoy the use and benefit from all the estate until the time of his or her death. Then the children will inherit all the estate, instead of the proportional part (two thirds) which would have been theirs by right if there hadn�t been a Socini clause.

What is a holographic will?
A holographic will is one which is made by any person legally of age, in his or her own handwriting, in which the will of the bequeather is declared. Among the essential requirements are the bequeather's signature and the date on the document. The text must also have been written in ballpoint, fountain pen or some other indelible implement. That is to say, holograpohic wills which have been typed or drafted on a computer are not legally valid. This type of will is the simplest and cheapest there is, but they are only advisable in cases of extreme urgency and as a provisional document until the bequeather can appear before a notary.

All the convenience that this type of will offers to the testator turn into headaches for the heirs, as they will have to go through a complex legal procedure of verification and authentication of the document. There may be problems of interpretation, incorrect use of legal terms, omission of obligatory heirs which could invalidate the will, reasonable doubt about the testators true wishes (as it could be a draft or provisional will), not to mention the ease with which such a document can be destroyed without trace, and with nobody able to prove that the will ever existed.

Deathbed wills.
In the event of someone wishing to make a will in his dying moments and with no notary available, the best thing to do is make a holographic will (handwritten), but this is not often possible due to the patient�s extreme weakness. In these exceptional cases, an oral will can be made -without the need for a notary- before five witnesses. Then ideally one of the witnesses should write down the testator�s verbal wishes right away. This method is only valid if the testator is in full possession of his mental faculties.

Regional differences.
Civil Law establishes the rules governing inheritances and wills (which can only be made by people over 14 years old). However, different Regional Autonomies have different legislation, as is the case in Navarra, Galicia. Catalonia, the Balearics, Aragon and part of the Basque Country. If the testator has his or her residence in any of these regions, the treatment of inheritance tax will vary. Strangely it is much cheaper to inherit in some regions than in others.

Who are the obligatory heirs
� The offspring receive two thirds. But the distribution of this part is not always the same for each heir. A third is divided equally among all the children. Another third, known as the mejora (literally, improvement), can go to whichever of the children the testator chooses.
The final third is freely disposable, that is it can to anyone, not necessarily someone of the family.

� If there are no children, the heirs will be the testator�s parents. They will receive half the estate, unless the testator were married, in which case the parents will receive a third of the inheritance.

� The spouse. He or she will be the beneficiary of a third of the estate, unless the deceased had made a will, in which case the spouse can enjoy the benefits of all the estate.