We all have different ideas about how we want our finances and our bodies to be disposed of after legal death. Whether your idea is to be buried, cremated or cryopreserved, a last will is a very important document to have. Not only will it legally assure that your last wishes are respected. It will also take some weight off the shoulders of your loved ones and could even help you avoid (or reduce at least) family fights.

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Is it complicated to write a will?

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Most people don’t want to think about death while they are alive and healthy. So, it’s likely they don’t want to spend time and money writing their last will. Especially when the process feels unnecessarily complicated, time consuming and filled with incomprehensible jargon.

We know how important it is to have a will. Not only for our members but for basically every adult. Therefore, we have decided to prepare a guide with a few tools specified for different countries. So here are a few suggestions on how to write your will without spending too much time and money.

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United Kingdom

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In the UK you can write your will yourself. But, as everywhere else, writing it yourself may be complicated. Especially if you have several properties or want to divide your assets between many beneficiaries. To make it easier, there are  several online tools that can help you. One good example is Beyond. It’s extremely user friendly and can be used to write your will online, arrange a funeral and even get legal advice from estate experts. The website is very simple and it costs £90 for one person or £135 for couples. Additionally, it has a blog with interesting and fun articles about, for example, the British’s attitude towards their will.

Note: Once the online will is completed, you will need to print it and sign it in front of 2 witnesses. They must be more than 18 years old and not be beneficiaries.

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Germany

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Before writing your will, check how legal succession works for you. Legal succession usually divides your assets in equal parts between your partner, all your blood relatives and adopted children. You should write a will if you want, for example, to leave something to a person that is not legally related to you. Or if you want to make sure that your special requests such as being cryopreserved, will have more chances to be respected.

If you want to write your will by yourself and save money, you have to write it by hand (this is called a “holographic will”). It can get a bit complicated when you have many properties and beneficiaries, but you can find step by step advice online.

If you want to find a template online, a nice tool is Smartlaw. Smartlaw is a platform where you can find more than 190 dynamic templates, written and certified by legal experts. The design may not be super catchy, but it’s definitely easy to use. You just need to fill in your information and answer some questions. Once completed, you will receive the document, that can be downloaded, printed and signed in front of a notary. Or, if you prefer, you can even rewrite it by hand. Then you won’t need any notary or any witness, just good handwriting.

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Smartlaws is also very useful if you are often in need of legal documents. You can just choose one of their affordable monthly tariffs and find all the documents you could possibly need.

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Italy

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In Italy, you usually need a notary for everything. Therefore, most people would think that a notary is necessary to write your will. But actually, you can write your will yourself. You can easily find examples online, but no tool that prepares it for you.

There are three prerequisites: It has to be handwritten by the testator in a readable way. It has to have a date. And it has to be signed on each page. There is no need for witnesses when the will is not written at a notary’s office. In any case, once the testator passes away, the will has to be published by a notary, in order to give effect to the provisions contained. So, finally, you won’t need a notary but your family will.

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Fun fact: Legally, a will can also be written in a dialect and in one of the so-called dead languages (Latin, Ancient Greek etc.), if the author knows them. Furthermore, the handwriting can be done by any means (pen, charcoal, chalk, etc.) and on any material: paper, fabric, wood, stone, provided that it is suitable.

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Spain

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Similarly to Germany, inSpain you can also write your own holographic will. Unlike other countries though, it is recommended to write it by hand, but it is not mandatory. If you write it with your computer and personally sign each page, it could be accepted. In any case, if you write your will yourself, your heirs will need to notarize it to get the inheritance.

A tool we would recommend is Testamenta. It does require you to book an appointment at the notary. But it is very easy (it even has a podcast explaining different topics in a simple way), and it’s safe. To make a will, you only need to go through 3 steps. 1) You fill in the form. 2) A lawyer checks your answers and elaborates a will. 3) You set an appointment with the notary and sign it. In addition, it allows you to prepare two different forms: a will for your assets and properties and one for your body. That is actually very good in case you want to be cryopreserved.

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The Netherlands

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In the Netherlands, you can as well choose to prepare a holographic handwritten will. But there are two main differences compared to the countries mentioned above. First, someone else can write it for you if you then sign each page yourself. Second, it is mandatory to deposit your will with a civil law notary, who certifies the deposit. For this reason, it's probably more convenient to write your will directly with your notary.

If you don’t have a trusted notary, we suggest you try DoeHetZelfNotaris. This website allows you to find notaries all around the country and schedule appointments.

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Finally, be careful when you decide to write your will yourself. If your will isn’t done properly, it won’t be valid. If you were to have a complex familiar or financial situation, it would be better to get some specialized advice before choosing which way to go.

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Importance of a will for cryopreservation

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In some cases, people could do without a will. If, for example, they had only one heir, one property or didn’t really care about how their body will be disposed of. But if you are interested in being cryopreserved, a will is a very useful document for you to have. Cryopreservation is still an uncommon practice. For this reason, legal questions may arise.

We always suggest our clients talk about their decision with their doctors and family members. We hope that the people around you will understand your decision. And maybe even follow you with the hope to share a “second life” together. But there have been cases where the family members ignored the wishes of a Biostasis member. And for these cases, the existence of some legal documents (a last Will and an Advance Healthcare Directive) could be crucial. Better be safe than sorry, no?

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Conclusion

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Whether you want to be cryopreserved or not, it’s important to have a will. In fact, all adults should have a will. And writing it is not as hard as it looks. There are several online tools that can help you, as those we mentioned above. The 5 countries we took into consideration offer a good picture of how things work in general in Europe.

If you come from a country different from the ones above and you want more information about the documents you need to be cryopreserved, you can always schedule a call. A member of our team will be happy to help you with your specific case. There are several steps you can take to have a high quality cryopreservation, and we are here to make things easier for you.

We hope you will join Tomorrow soon!