A woman made a will in 2012 in which she distributed her property to her three children. In 2017, after it was determined that she did not need a guardian despite being an 84-year-old and nursed, she made a will in a haste before a notary who did not ask her for a medical certificate, in which she bequeathed more property to one of her sons but did not make any provision regarding the rest of the property.
The Court held that although the will was made of the woman’s free will, she was not competent to make it and therefore the will is invalid. A will made when the testator did not know how to distinguish its nature is invalid. The testator’s awareness that it was making a will, its knowledge of the extent of its property and heirs, and its awareness of the effect of making the will on its heirs, may be taken into account. When the testator is bedridden or in a nursing home, the notary must demand a medical certificate from the testator, but its lack does not in itself lead to the invalidity of the will when the testator's mental capacity is proven. However, even if the testator expressed free will, its understanding at the time of making of the will shall be reviewed. Here, it was determined near the time the will was drawn that the woman did not need a guardian and that she is of sane mind and she even participated in the process. Therefore, it may be assumed with a high degree of confidence that she was competent to bequeath her property subject to her free will, which is clearly evident from the 2017 will, even though no medical certificate was sought. Nevertheless, it is not clear that the woman understood what she bequeaths, among other things because the will was drawn up in a hasty and incomplete manner, with important details regarding the property being omitted. Therefore, the woman was not competent to draft the will and the will is therefore invalid.