Will

A will or testament (유언/遺言) is a legal declaration by which a person, the testator, names one or more persons to manage his or her estate and provides for the distribution of his property at death. A will was historically limited to real property while "testament" applies only to dispositions of personal property thus giving rise to the popular title of the document as "Last Will and Testament". The will is a formal legal document that prescribes the disposition of decedent's property after his or her death.

Key words
will, testament, notarized will, nuncupative will, inheritance, court

Formality
Article 1060 of the Civil Act requires strict formality and prohibits agency in making a will.

Capacity
One must be 17 or older to make a will. Article 1061. Persons without legal capacity may make a will. Article 1062.

However, an incompetent may make a will only when he has sufficiently recovered to the point of understanding his intentions. Article 1063 (1). In this case, a medical practitioner shall add in writing the status of recovery of mental soundness on the testament, and shall affix his signature and seal thereto. Article 1063 (2).

Types of Will
In terms of law, there are five types of wills.

Holographic Will
In order to make a will by holograph document (자필증서/自筆證書), the testator must write with his own handwriting the whole text, the date, the domicile and his full name, and must affix his seal thereto. Making any insertion, deletion or other alteration of letters in a holograph mentioned above shall be conducted in the testator's own handwriting and affix his seal thereto. Article 1066.

Audio-Recorded Will
In order to make a will by a sound recording (녹음/錄音), the testator must orally state the tenor of his will, his full name and the date, and the witness must orally state that the will made by the testator is due and correct and also state his full name. Article 1067.

Notarized Will
In order to make a will by a notarial document (공정증서/公正證書), the testator must orally state the tenor of his will before a notary, in the presence of two witnesses and the notary must write down and read it, and then the testator and each of the witness must affix their signature or names, and seals to the writing after acknowledging it to be due and correct. Article 1068.

Secret Will
In order to make a will by a secret document (비밀증서/秘密證書), the testator must close up the document on which the writer s full name was written and affix his seal thereto, and after the testator has produced the sealed document before at least two witnesses and declares that it is his testamentary document, the date of the production of the document must be written on the sealed cover, and then the testator and the witnesses must affix their signatures or names and seals thereto.

A closed document of a will prepared in compliance with the forms mentioned above must be submitted to a notary or the court clerk within five days from the day on which the date of production of the document has been written down on the cover of the document, and the date of confirmation thereof must be affixed on the part sealed. Article 1069.

Nuncupative Will
In order to make a will by an instrument of dictation (구수증서/口授證書) in a case where a will is not able to be made in compliance with the forms mentioned in the preceding four Articles due to disease or any other cause imminent, the testator must orally declare the tenor of his will to one of the witnesses in the presence of at least two witnesses, and the person to whom the oral declaration is made must write it down and read it, and the testator and each witness, after their having acknowledged the writing to be due and correct, must affix their signature and seal thereto. Article 1070 (1).

A will made in compliance with the form mentioned in paragraph (1) must be submitted to the court for its inspection and approval thereof by the witness or the persons interested within seven days from the day on which such imminent cause terminates. Article 1070 (2). In this case, medical practitioner's statement is not required. Article 1070 (3).