Now, it is not unusual for nature to designate the heir to the estate by making a will before life. The most common way for natural persons to make a will is to write it themselves, which is what we call a self-written will. So, when a natural person makes a will by writing a will, does it need to have a witness present to witness it?
Let's first look at how the Civil Code regulates this issue.
Article 1134 of the Civil Code stipulates: "A self-written will shall be written by the testator himself, signed, and indicating the year, month and day." ”
Judging from the above provisions of the Civil Code, when the testator makes a will through a self-written will, he only needs to write the content of the will by the testator himself, and then sign the testator's name on the will, and indicate the specific year, month and day of the will, then such a will is legally effective.
It can be seen that the self-written will does not require the witness to be present, and the witness witness is not a necessary condition for the legal effect of the self-written will.
However, the proxy will is different.
Article 1135 of the Civil Code stipulates: "A testament on behalf of a will shall be witnessed by two or more witnesses present, one of whom shall bear witness, and shall be signed by the testator, the proxy and other witnesses, indicating the year, month and day." ”
It can be seen from this that in the case of a will written on behalf of the will, the witness's presence is a necessary condition for the will to take effect. Moreover, more than two witnesses are required to witness, one of whom is represented by a witness, and then the testator, the proxy and other witnesses sign the will, indicating the year, month, and day. A will is valid only if all of the above conditions are met.