In a will, you can decide how your assets should be distributed upon your death. Most people have an idea of how they would like this distribution to be. If the person drawing up a will is neither married nor has children, they have complete freedom of testamentary disposition.

However, if the person has a spouse and/or children, there will be restrictions on the right to make a will.

Who can draw up a will?

It is a condition that anyone wishing to draw up a will must be at least 18 years of age. The person must also be of sound mind, which means that they must be of sound mind and judgment. Testamentary dispositions become invalid if the testator, at the time of creation, was insane, severely mentally disabled or severely mentally impaired, unless it is unlikely that the state of mind had an impact on the content of the disposition, cf. Section 62 of the Inheritance Act.

What formal requirements apply to wills?

A will must be drawn up in writing, cf. Section 49 of the Inheritance Act.

In addition, there must always be two witnesses approved by the testator. The witnesses must be aware that they are signing a will, but they do not need to know the specific contents of the will.

It is also important that the testator and the two witnesses are present together when the testator signs the will, and that the witnesses also sign it.

Witnesses must be at least 18 years of age and must not suffer from dementia, mental illness or any other condition that would render them incapable of performing their duties as witnesses, cf. Section 52 of the Inheritance Act.

What happens if you don't make a will?

The Inheritance Act determines what will happen to a person's estate when he or she dies. There are two legal bases for inheritance in Norway, i.e. law or will. If no will has been made, the deceased's estate will be distributed according to the rules of the Inheritance Act. First, the deceased's heirs inherit according to the rules in Section 1 of the Inheritance Act. If there are no such direct descendants of the deceased, the parents and their descendants, i.e. siblings, etc., inherit, cf. Section 2. If there are no such heirs either, the grandparents and their descendants inherit, but more distant relatives than cousins do not inherit, cf. Section 3.

If the deceased also has a spouse, the spouse will inherit according to the rules in Chapter II. Cohabitants may also inherit from each other, but only if they have children together, cf. Section 28 b.

As a general rule, heirs named in a will take precedence over those who follow the order of succession, but there are certain exceptions. Firstly, children who are not yet financially independent are entitled to an inheritance that takes precedence over the bequests in the will in order to secure their necessary living expenses and education. Secondly, the spouse will be entitled to a minimum inheritance of either 4 (if there are heirs) or 6 times (if the closest heirs are parents or descendants thereof) the basic amount of the National Insurance Scheme as a minimum inheritance. Thirdly, the heirs will be entitled to a compulsory portion of the estate even if the will states otherwise. The compulsory portion of the estate amounts to 2/3 of the estate, but no more than NOK 1 million for each of them.

If you have any questions about, for example, the validity of a will or need assistance in drawing up a will, please feel free to contact our experienced lawyers.