ROMANIA WILLS - TORNARITIS LAW LLC
Romanian Wills
All legal systems (including the Romanian one) have a requirement for wills. The rules on testamentary succession vary considerably in the different national legal systems, these rules and practices often being deeply rooted in tradition.
Romania did not sign the Convention providing a Uniform Law on the Form of an International Will (Washington, D.C., 1973) and so far a community instrument with regards to European wills has not yet been established.
Even if you have amended your existing will in your country of habitual residence it may not be easily recognised by the Romanian authorities. Family members may contest it and most importantly what will your dependents inherit after you have gone? Most likely extra cost and time delay, having to rely on lawyers to sort out a complex conflict of laws. That is until you act NOW
There are two kinds of common wills used in Romania - Notarial Will or Personally Handwritten Will. The latter being less expensive with a Notarial Will completed in the form of a notary deed and considered as having stronger legal effect usually in the cases where different family members or third parties contest the will.
Clients are given the option of either a Notarial or Personally Handwritten Will. The following is a brief outline of both wills:
1. The notarial testamentary disposition should be drafted by a Romanian public notary. Witnesses are not required to participate in this type of Notarial Will. The assistance of a lawyer is always recommended because some important documents have to be collected, translated and verified prior to its presentation to the public notary. The Will is drafted in the form of notary deed and the testator verbally expresses his or her will to the notary in the presence of an interpreter. The public notary takes note of the formalities to be included in the Will, marking the place and date of signing. The Will is then signed by the testator and witnessed by the public notary. There are stamp duty taxes and notary fees to be paid for such a type of Will.
2. A Personally Handwritten Will must be entirely written by the hand of the testator, date set out when it was drafted and signed by him or herself. An authorised lawyer can certify this type of will, although this is not a requirement, therefore, you have the option of completing the Will from the comfort of your own home, through personal e-mail assistance from the Romanian lawyer. A certified translator may translate the Personally Handwritten Will in Romanian. After completing the Will, the Romanian lawyer will take care of the follow up legal aspects, eventually storing it securely in offices for your dependents to resurrect when the time comes.
OverseasWills works in partnership with established and reputable Romanian lawyers and consultancy companies and we can provide guidance and a streamline process from start to finish. Most importantly the dependents are left with a local point of contact
Main rule of thumb: Romanian Wills do not require a great deal of information. However, they are absolutely recommended to avoid any significant legal issues for dependents.
Note: Any testator has to know that the reserved portion of the estate is subject to the law applicable to the succession. This law may provide limits to the freedom of will (dispositions), these limits (if any) being under the exclusive control of the testators.
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