How is a will drawn up and can I register it?

The will is valid, if it is written in the form regulated by the Inheritance Act, and under the conditions which are determined by law. The holographic will is the simplest and it is valid if the testator writes it from beginning to end and signs it. If the testator does not write the will him/herself, it is valid only if two witnesses are present when the testator signs it. The two witnesses must also sign the will and they must not be related to the testator. A third person, who writes the will according to the testator’s will and wish, can be a relative, acquaintance, lawyer, civil law notary. In case of a notarial will, i.e. a will made in the form of a notarial record, a civil law notary is present as a public authority which composes and writes the will according to the testator’s will, and reads it to them in the presence of two witnesses. The original copy of the will in the form of a notarial record is kept in the civil law notary’s office till the testator’s death, and the legacy reading. After the death of the testator, and before the legacy reading, the civil law notary hands the will over to the court. Special legal clauses are taken into account for the will, which has been written abroad, on a Slovenian ship, in a state of emergency, or war, for an international will, or a nuncupative will.

In a cross-border situation, the will shall be deemed to be valid with regard to its form if its form is valid under any of the following legal systems:
1. the law of the place where the will was made;
2. the law of the country of which the testator was a citizen at the time of testamentary disposition or at the time of death;
3. the law of the place of the testator’s permanent residence at the time of testamentary disposition or at the time of death;
4. the law of the place of the testator’s temporary residence at the time of testamentary disposition or at the time of death;
5. the law of the Republic of Slovenia;
6. for immovable property – also the law of the country of this immovable property.

A cancellation of will shall be valid with regard to its form if this form is valid under any of the laws under which it would be deemed valid in keeping with the first paragraph of this Article.

In the Republic of Slovenia the central register of Wills is managed by the Chamber of Notaries of Slovenia. The Central Registry contains information about last wills, which are worded in the form of a notarial deed; wills which are deposited with the notaries; wills which are drawn up by an advocate or are deposited with him/her; judicial wills and wills, which are deposited with the Court of Justice in accordance with the provisions of the Act that regulates the inheritance. Notaries, advocates and Courts of Justice (applicants), who draw up a will or with whom a will is deposited, submit to the Chamber of Notaries the requirement for entry in the Central Registry for Last Will no later than 15 days after the will has been worded or deposited. Any entry in the register during the lifetime of the testator is confidential, whereas after the testator’s death, the court or persons with a legitimate interest (heirs) can demand the extract from the register.

Information about how to keep, to register and to search for a will are also available on the website of the European Network of Register of Wills Association (ENRWA) in the section “Information sheet”.

www.arert.eu

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