The Legal Foundations of Making a Will
A will is the legal instrument through which a person determines the fate of their property after death. The Civil Code of Georgia lays down precise rules for wills: who is entitled to make one, in which forms a will may be executed, and who may not take part in its execution as a witness. This page explains the norms of the Civil Code on which will drafting rests — the requirements relating to the personality and capacity of the testator, the procedure for recording a will by a notary, the restrictions on witnesses, and the institution of the domestic will.
The most important principle of will-making is its personal character: under Article 1346 of the Civil Code, a will must be made by the testator in person, and making a will through a representative is not permitted. This means that neither an advocate, nor a notary, nor any family member may make a will in the testator's name. A lawyer's role in the process is confined to consultation and preparation of the draft text — the final decision and the signature on the will are exclusively the testator's personal acts, and this personal bond between the testator and the disposition is what the law protects.
Who May Make a Will
Article 1345 of the Civil Code provides that a will may be made by a person of full age and legal capacity who, at the moment of making the will, is able to reasonably judge their own actions and clearly express their will. The law thus sets interconnected requirements: the person must be of full age and capable, and, at the same time, at the concrete moment of making the will, must be able to assess their own conduct reasonably and to express a clear intention as to the content of the disposition.
The moment criterion deserves particular attention: what is decisive is the factual moment of making the will, not the person's general condition in other periods of life. If at the moment of making the will the person cannot reasonably judge their actions regarding the content of the will, the soundness of such a will becomes fragile and may become a ground for challenge in court. For this reason, before a will is drafted it is advisable to assess the future testator's condition and to choose the form that best secures the voluntary character of the disposition and its evidentiary basis.
Recording a Will by a Notary
Article 1358 of the Civil Code regulates the notarial form of a will. It is permissible for the will to be written down by a notary from the testator's words in the presence of two witnesses. Generally accepted technical means may be used in recording the will — the law here allows the use of modern technology, which simplifies the recording procedure without altering its formal safeguards.
A will written down by a notary from the testator's words must be read by the testator and signed in the presence of the notary and a witness. The reading matters because the testator personally verifies the content of the recorded text and, by signing, confirms that it is an accurate reflection of their will. The presence of the notary and a witness, in turn, secures the reliability of the procedure and serves to prove the authenticity of the will in the future.