CAN YOU ADD MORE HEIRS AFTER A WILL HAS BEEN MADE?

Table of Contents

1. What is a will?

2. Conditions for making a will according to legal regulations.

3. Can you add more heirs after a will has been made?

1. What is a will?

According to Article 624 of the 2015 Civil Code, “Will means an expression of the wishes of an individual, made in order to bequeath94 his or her property to others after his or her death.”

At the same time, a will is expressed in written form (with or without witnesses; notarized or authenticated) or an oral will.

2. Conditions for making a will according to the law

According to Article 630 of the 2015 Civil Code, a will must have the following conditions:

“Article 630. Lawful wills

1. A lawful will must satisfy the following requirements:

(a) The testator was of sound mind when he or she made the will; and he or she was not deceived, threatened or coerced [into making the will];

(b) The contents of the will do not breach matters prohibited by law or contravene social morals and the will complies with legal formalities.

2. A will made by a person between fifteen (15) and eighteen (18) years of age must be made in writing and with the consent of the parents or guardian of such person thereto.

3. A will made by a person who is incapacitated or illiterate must be made in writing by a witness and [must be] notarized or certified.

4. A written will which is not notarized or certified shall be deemed lawful only if it satisfies the requirements provided in clause 1 of this article.5. An oral will shall be deemed lawful only if the testator orally expressed his or her last wishes before at least two witnesses who recorded those wishes in writing and signed or fingerprinted the document immediately after the testator orally expressed his or her last wishes. Such will must be certified by a notary public officer or an authorized agency, verifying signatures or fingerprints of the witnesses within five business days of the date on which the testator orally expressed his or her last wishes.”

3. Can an additional heir be added after a will has been made?

According to Article 626 of the 2015 Civil Code, the rights of the testator are stipulated as follows:

“Article 626. Rights of testators

A testator has the following rights:

1. To appoint heirs or to deprive an heir of the right to inherit the estate.

2. To determine those parts of the estate to which each heir is entitled.

3. To reserve part of the estate as a gift or for worship purposes.

4. To designate heirs to perform obligations.

5. To appoint a custodian of the will, an administrator of the estate, and a distributor of the estate.”

In addition, Article 640 of the 2015 Civil Code stipulates the amendment, supplementation, replacement, and revocation of a will:

“Article 640. Amendment of, addition to, replacement or revocation of wills

1. A testator may amend, add to, replace or revoke the will which has been made at any time.

2. If a testator adds to his or her will, the original will and the codicil shall have equal validity. If a part of the original will and the codicil conflict with each other, the codicil shall prevail.96

3. Where a testator replaces a will with a new will, the previous will shall be [deemed to have been] revoked.”

Based on the above provisions, if the testator wishes to add more heirs, he/she is still allowed to add more heirs. If the testator replaces the will with a new will, the previous will is revoked.