Kenneth G C Reid, Marius J. de Waal, and Reinhard Zimmermann (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199696802
- eISBN:
- 9780191732065
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199696802.001.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Company and Commercial Law
This book is about testamentary formalities, that is to say, about the requirements which the law of succession imposes in order for a person to make a will. How are wills made? What precisely are ...
More
This book is about testamentary formalities, that is to say, about the requirements which the law of succession imposes in order for a person to make a will. How are wills made? What precisely are the rules — as to the signature of the testator, the use of witnesses, the need for a notary public or lawyer, and so on? Is there is a choice of will-type and, if so, which type is used most often and what are the advantages and disadvantages of each? How common is will-making or do most people die intestate? What happens if formalities are not observed? How can requirements of form be explained and justified? What is the legal history of wills, the state of the law today, and the prospects for the future? Is this a fruitful topic for comparative law? The book explores these questions through a representative sample of countries in Europe as well as in the USA, Latin America, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. A final chapter draws the threads together and offers an overall assessment of the development of wills and will-making in Europe and beyond.Less
This book is about testamentary formalities, that is to say, about the requirements which the law of succession imposes in order for a person to make a will. How are wills made? What precisely are the rules — as to the signature of the testator, the use of witnesses, the need for a notary public or lawyer, and so on? Is there is a choice of will-type and, if so, which type is used most often and what are the advantages and disadvantages of each? How common is will-making or do most people die intestate? What happens if formalities are not observed? How can requirements of form be explained and justified? What is the legal history of wills, the state of the law today, and the prospects for the future? Is this a fruitful topic for comparative law? The book explores these questions through a representative sample of countries in Europe as well as in the USA, Latin America, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. A final chapter draws the threads together and offers an overall assessment of the development of wills and will-making in Europe and beyond.
Reinhard Zimmermann
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199696802
- eISBN:
- 9780191732065
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199696802.003.0008
- Subject:
- Law, Company and Commercial Law
This chapter traces the history of the ordinary as well as extra-ordinary will types in German law. It commences with an analysis of private wills in 19th-century Germany and relates the debates ...
More
This chapter traces the history of the ordinary as well as extra-ordinary will types in German law. It commences with an analysis of private wills in 19th-century Germany and relates the debates surrounding the introduction — at the last conceivable moment and against protracted opposition — of the holograph will into the BGB. Yet, judicial experience with it in the first four decades of the 20th century was anything but encouraging. The problems were solved, eventually, by legislative reform: the Testamentsgesetz of 1938 laid the foundations of the holograph will as it has come to be established as a generally accepted part of modern German law. The chapter analyses the way in which modern courts and writers interpret the form requirements of the holograph will. It then traces the development of public wills, of emergency wills, and of wills made during a sea voyage in German law.Less
This chapter traces the history of the ordinary as well as extra-ordinary will types in German law. It commences with an analysis of private wills in 19th-century Germany and relates the debates surrounding the introduction — at the last conceivable moment and against protracted opposition — of the holograph will into the BGB. Yet, judicial experience with it in the first four decades of the 20th century was anything but encouraging. The problems were solved, eventually, by legislative reform: the Testamentsgesetz of 1938 laid the foundations of the holograph will as it has come to be established as a generally accepted part of modern German law. The chapter analyses the way in which modern courts and writers interpret the form requirements of the holograph will. It then traces the development of public wills, of emergency wills, and of wills made during a sea voyage in German law.
