Civil Inheritance Law: Addressing the Ignorance of Heirs Regarding Wills
Legal Literacy - Essentially, a will is a request from a person regarding their wishes upon death that can be revoked. However, the application of wills allows...
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Table of Contents
- Inheritance Civil Law
- This inheritance occurs when a person has died (ab-intestato) but did not provide a will to their heirs. Therefore, this inheritance follows everything regulated in the legislation. The legal heirs (ab-intestaat) in this case are divided into 4 groups, including: 1) Group I Heirs; 2) Group II Heirs; 3) Group III Heirs; and 4) Group IV Heirs.
- This inheritance occurs when the testator leaves a will (ad-testamente). Based on its contents, a will has 2 types, namely a legacy will (olografis testament) and the appointment of an heir (erfstelling). Based on its form, a will has 3 types, namely a closed or secret will, a public will (openbaar testament) and a self-written will (olografis testament). Article 874 of the Civil Code stipulates that legitimate heirs are given a will by the testator.
- Several causes of heirs' ignorance of the existence of a will are:
- Basically, the testator is not obliged to notify the heirs of their will. This becomes a problem in inheritance law if the assets have been distributed ab-intestate. This situation certainly causes legal losses in the context of the previous inheritance distribution, and also uncertainty in terms of who bears the responsibility for
- In accordance with the Letter of the Department of Home Affairs, Directorate General of Agrarian Affairs, Directorate of Land Registration (Cadastre), dated December 20, 1969 Number Dpt/13/63/69 and Agrarian Regulation Number 3 of 1997, these two regulations stipulate that for indigenous groups, information on inheritance rights is regulated by the Lurah or Village Head and Camat according to their place of residence. In practice, this is not checked first regarding the existence of a will because there is no access. Thus, it causes inheritance distribution but without regard to the will.
- In accordance with Article 1005 of the Civil Code, the testator may appoint an executor of the will (executeur testamentair). In practice, a bank is often appointed as the executor of the will. The appointment of an executor does not have to be someone who holds a position such as a Notary, government official, etc. However, this makes the executor's duties negligent because they are not a person in a position. Basically, the distribution of inheritance is the will of the parties in accordance with the agreement. As long as none of the parties feel disadvantaged by the distribution of the inheritance, the distribution of the inheritance is complete. If there is a will, the parties can choose between implementing it or remaining based on the law. Thus, in this case, the position of the will has permanent legal force (in kracht van gewijsde). However, the will can be nullified if the parties prefer inheritance distribution based on the law. If any of the heirs feel disadvantaged and cause a dispute, the inheritance distribution becomes null and void as a result of an unlawful act committed by the ab intestato heirs to the testamentary heirs which can be sued through the court. The settlement of disputes from this matter has 2 ways, namely non-litigation such as conciliation, mediation, negotiation, consultation, and arbitration. The next way is through litigation or lawsuits through the courts.
Legal Literacy- Essentially, a will is a request from a person regarding their wishes upon death, which can be revoked. However, in practice, a will may not be executed. This is because the will left by the testator is unknown to the heirs. So, what is the position and legal consequences of the testator's will being unknown?
By:Dedon Dianta
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