Increasingly young Lithuanians get certified the last will
Every month, the residents of Lithuania get certified in notary’s offices three thousand testaments, where they indicate to whom they would leave their property in case of death.
A from of old existing view that only senior citizens worry about drawing up a testament, is changed. According to representatives of the Notary Chamber of Lithuania, increasingly young people in the age of 30-50 draw up testaments.
However, the Lithuania has yet not overtaken old EU countries where testaments are being drawn up both more often and by testators of various ages.
In a notary’s office, every person being capable of functioning and realizing sense and consequences of his actions can draw up a testament.
Both last year and the year before last, women have drawn up more testaments (67 per cent) than men.
In order to draw up a legally correct official testament, one has to turn to the notary which helps to draw up it, certifies and keeps it. A testament is drawn up in two copies. The testaments certified are registered in the register of testaments.
In an official testament, the place and date of drawing up the testament, the list of the property being left and heirs are indicated.
According to Vice-president of the Notary Chamber of Lithuania Marius Strachkaitis, the drawing up testament costs up to 100 Lt.
„It depends from complexity of contents. Would you like to imagine: one wants to leave his immovable property to only one person, but allows to other people to live in it till death. The testator may want to appoint a disponent of the testament and may only to determine order of paying money to his children. The milieu of every person where he lives is very various.”, - said M.Strachkaitis.
According to the lawyer, not always one can estimate what property a testator want to leave to his relatives since only an universal sentence is there: „All the property is left“.
The relatives of the departed not satisfied or wanting to receive the property may attempt to amend the testament proving that the testator was “incapable”, “near death”, “unhealthy”. However, M. Strachkaitis assured that it is very difficult to do it.
„Conflicts may arise but its would be settled in the court. Thare were yet not the cases that an incapable citizen wanted to leave a testament“, - said the notary.
The testament can be drawn up by himself as well, without help of the lawyer. However, when one wants to get fulfilled the last will, he has in any case to get certified the document with notary‘s signature. „As is the case, people come with a testament in the sealled envelope. However, in our country, there are only 0,4 per cent of unofficial testaments.“,- said M. Strachkaitis.
Only having drawn up the testament with the help of the notary, the testator can be sure that the property left will pass into the possession of those people for which it is actually intended.
The concept of testament was known yet in the Roman law. The maxim “testator’s will is considered the law” comes from those times.