1.

Introduction
The testament is the unilateral, personal and revocable act by which a person, called the testator,
dispose of for the time he will not be alive.
The testament contains provisions relating to the succession heritage or the assets that are part
of it, as well as to the direct or indirect designation of the legatee. Along with these provisions, or
even in the absence of such provisions, the testament may contain provisions relating to partition,
revocation of previous testamentary provisions, demotion, appointment of willful executors, duties
imposed on legatees or legal heirs, and other provisions that take effect after the testator's death.

2. Testament in Romania
2.1. Notion
In Roman law, the testament is the formal legal act by which the deceased has ordered for the
time when you will not be alive.
The testament contains provisions relating to the succession heritage or the assets that are part
of it, as well as to the direct or indirect designation of the legatee. Along with these provisions, or
even in the absence of such provisions, the testament may contain provisions relating to partition,
revocation of previous testamentary provisions, demotion, appointment of willful executors, duties
imposed on legatees or legal heirs, and other provisions that take effect after the testator's death.

2.2. The content of the will

The main object of the testament is the freely provision of the goods the testator will leave to his
death, that is, the legatees.
Links can be universal or particular, when it refers to the entire patrimony or a certain fraction of
the patrimony, or in particular, when it refers to certain individually determined assets, of the
patrimony
The will may also include other previous wills:
- Tasks imposed on lawyers or heirs of a patrimonial or other nature
- Removal from inheritance of legal heirs within the limits provided by the law
- Designation of testamentary executors
- Revocation of a previous testament
- The ascendant parcel (the divorce made by the testator between his descendants of the
succession property or a part of such property)
- Father's recognition of a child out of wedlock
- Recognition by the mother of the child registered as born of unknown parents
- Designate a person to be a guardian of his / her child or a desire to remove the possibility of a
person being called guardian
- Provisions regarding funeral
- Provisions regarding the end of a foundational foundation

2.3. Terms of will validity

As any legal act, in order to be valid, the testament must meet the general background conditions
and form required by law.
The substantive testamentary conditions are: the ability to dispose of and receive through the
will, the testator's free and untied will and the valid legal cause.
 The ability to dispose of the will and to get connected is the rule in the matter. Exceptions to this
rule are the people whom the law considers incapable of acting.
Incapacity to dispose by will is expressly provided by law, these are:
- Insufficiency of the minor: the minor regardless of age, being a person lacking in exercise or with
limited exercise capacity, can not dispose of his possessions through liberties; As an exception, the
juvenile who, at the age of 16, has completed a valid marriage or has achieved full exercise through
emancipation, can execute a valid testament
- The incapacity of the court forbidden: being a person lacking the capacity to exert, can not
dispose by will, not even in moments of lucidity
- Inability of the minor to test in favor of the guardian: even after acquiring full exercise capacity,
the juvenile may not instruct the guardian until he has received discharge from the custody court;
The exception is in the situation where the tutor is ascendant of the minor
Incapacity to receive through the testament may result from special incapacity to receive liberty
and from special inability to relate, these are:
- Incapacity of doctors, pharmacists or other people who treated the testator during the disease
that caused the death; Also in this category are the priests who assisted the beast in the course of
the disease of which he died
- Incapacity to receive the public notary who authenticated the will, the interpreter who
participated in the will authentication procedure, the witnesses who participated in the
authentication of the testament and the persons who have provided legal assistance in writing the
testament.
Another condition of validity of the testament is the testament's free and unquenchable will.
Persons who do not have a conscious will at the time of the conclusion of the will can not dispose of
the will, even if they are not forbidden.
In testament matters, it is not enough for the testator to have the full capacity of exercise
recognized by law, but he must have had the power of discernment at the time of the conclusion of
the testament.
Also, the testator's will may be vitiated by error, violence or downturn.
The later is the most common and takes the form of the captivity and suggestion, the handles
used to make the disposer make a freedom that he would not otherwise do and have no reason to
do.
In terms of the form they are:
- Written form: the law recognizes the validity of any will only if it has been written. The oral or
verbal test (known in the literature as nuncupative) is not valid in our law (regardless of the number
of witnesses that could confirm it).
- Solemn form: all forms of will have to wear solemn form.
- The form of the separate testament: the law prohibits two persons from testing the same act in
favor of the other or in favor of a third person.

2.4. Forms of the will

The Romanian Civil Code presents three types of wills, through which the testator can manifest
his ultimate will:
- Ordinary wills: authentic testament and hologram
- The privileged trials: maritime and river, military, epidemics, catastrophes, wars or hospitals
- Other testamentary forms.
 The handwritten testament: is the testament written in its entirety, signed and dated by the
testator's hand. The handwriting testament can be used by anyone who knows how to write, can be
used anytime and anywhere, does not require the presence of another person, does not claim
expenses, secures the secrecy of the ultimate will, can be revoked by the testator by destroying it.
Authentic Testament: is the testament authenticated by the notary public. The authentic
Testament can be used by any person, even if he does not know how to sleep, as well as the one who
can not sign up for a disease or illness.
Military testament: is the will of the soldiers as well as their assimilated persons in front of the
military commander of the unit or in front of another superior officer, assisted by two witnesses if
they are in foreign territory on mission or prisoner to the enemy, or On the territory of the country,
in a besieged locality or in a place without communication with the outside.
Maritime testament: is the testament issued by persons on board a ship under the Romanian flag,
whether crew or passengers, in front of the ship's commander and two witnesses.
The testament to epidemics, catastrophes, wars or other such exceptional circumstances: is the
test done before a competent officer of the local administration, assisted by two witnesses, is valid
only if there is no public notary in that locality who could draw up a Regular testament.

3. Testament in the United States of America

3.1. Notion
A will or testament is a legal act by which a person, the testator, expresses wishes about how
their property is to be distributed to death and appoints one or more persons, the executor, to
administer the property until it is distributed final.
Although it was sometimes thought that a "will" was historically limited to real property, while the
"testament" applies only to the provisions of personal property (the popular title of the document as
the "last will and testament"), historical records show that Terms have been used interchangeably.
Thus, the word "will" applies equally to both personal and real property. A will can also create a
testamentary trust that is effective only after the testator's death.

3.2 The covenant of the will

A person writes a testament while he is alive, and his instructions take place once the individual
goes unfulfilled. The Testament calls a person who still lives as an executor of the estate. This person
is responsible for property management. The probation tribunal usually supervises the bailiff to
ensure that he fulfills the wills specified in the will.
More specifically, a will and last testament instructs the court to dispose of all goods, including
who is to receive them and in what quantity. It establishes guardianship arrangements for
dependents and accounts for any special circumstances, which may include caring for a child with
special needs or an aging parent. Attachments to the will, such as a proxy or a medical directive, can
guide the court on how to deal with problems if a person becomes physically or mentally
incapacitated.
A will can not include a requirement that an heir committing an illegal, immoral or other act
against public order as a condition of reception. In community property jurisdictions, a will can not
be used to disinherited a surviving spouse who is entitled to at least some of the testator's wealth. In
the United States, children may be disinherited by the will of their parents, except for Louisiana,
where a minimum share is guaranteed to surviving children.
 3.3. Terms of will validity
Any person of major age and having "testamentary capacity" can make a will, with or without the
help of a lawyer. Additional requirements may vary, depending on jurisdiction, but generally include
the following requirements:
- The tester must clearly identify himself as the producer of the will and a will is made; This is
commonly called the "publication" of the will, and is usually satisfied with the words "last will and
testament" on the face of the document.
- The tester should declare that he or she revokes all previous wills and codices. Otherwise, a
subsequent one will revoke old wills and codices only to the extent that they are incoherent.
However, if a subsequent will is completely inconsistent with the previous one, the previous will is
considered to be completely revoked by default.
- The tester can demonstrate that he has the ability to dispose of the property ("healthy mind")
and makes it freely and willingly.
- The tester must sign and present the date of the will, usually in the presence of at least two non-
interested witnesses (non-beneficiaries). There may also be witnesses, who are called
"supernumerary" witnesses, if there is a question about an interested party conflict. Some
jurisdictions, especially Pennsylvania, have removed the requirement for witnesses. In the United
States, Louisiana requires both the attestation of two witnesses and notarization by a notary public.
Holographic or handwritten tests do not generally require witnesses to be present.
- The testator's signature must be placed at the end of the testament. If this is not observed, any
text following the signature will be ignored or the entire will may be invalidated if what comes after
the signature is so important that ignoring it would defeat the testator's intentions.
- One or more recipients should generally be clearly mentioned in the text, but some jurisdictions
allow a valid will that merely revokes a previous will, revokes a provision in a previous will, or
appoints an executor.

3.4. Forms of the will

Types of wills generally include:
- Nonspective: oral or dictated; Often limited to sailors or military personnel.
- Holographic Will: written by the testator's hand; In many jurisdictions, the signature and
material terms of the holographic will have to be written by the testator's hand.
- Self-proven: in solemn form, with a statement of witnesses present to avoid probation.
- Notary: Will be in public form prepared by a civil notary (Louisiana, United States).
- Mystic - sealed to death.
- Military dignity: the will of the person in active military service and usually lacking certain
formalities, in particular under English law.
- Reciprocal / mirror / mutual will / husband and wife: wills made by two or more parties (usually
spouses) who make similar or identical arrangements in favor of the other.
- In solemn form - signed by testator and witnesses.
Some jurisdictions recognize a holographic will, entirely made in the hand of the testator or in
some modern formulations, with material provisions written by the testator's hand. The distinctive
feature of the holographic will is less than the fact that it is handwritten by the testator and often
does not need to be confessed. In Louisiana, this type of will is called a holographic or mystical will. It
must be entirely written, dated and signed by the testator. Although the date may appear anywhere
in the will, the testator must sign the will at the end. Any additions or corrections must also be fully
entered in order to have effect.

4. Conclusions
Both in Romania and in the United States the testament is the last act of the deceased's will.
In the Romanian Civil Code we meet the notion of will, whereas in US law the will is known as the
last will and will.
Although very similar to the two testamentary forms are different in the following elements:
- In Romania, the testament can be drawn up without witnesses, whereas in the United States it is
specified that at least two witnesses are required
- In Romania, children can not be fully deprived of their right to the inheritance reserve, unlike in
the United States, children can be fully disinherited, except Louisiana.
As the ultimate act of the deceased, the will represents a legal act of utmost importance to the
heirs who will have to respect the last desires of the deceased