Legal Definitions - factio testamenti

Factio testamenti refers to the legal capacity an individual must possess to either create a valid will (testamentary capacity) or to be a legitimate beneficiary capable of receiving assets or property through a will.

It encompasses various legal requirements, including mental competence, freedom from undue influence or duress, and not being legally disqualified from inheriting. Essentially, it determines whether a person has the necessary legal standing to participate in the process of estate planning through a will, either as the maker or a recipient.

• Example 1 (Mental Competence to Create a Will):

  An 88-year-old woman, who has been diagnosed with advanced Alzheimer's disease, signs a new will that drastically changes her previous estate plan, disinheriting her children and leaving all her assets to a newly hired caregiver.

  Explanation: If it can be proven that her advanced Alzheimer's prevented her from understanding the nature of her assets, who her natural heirs were, or the consequences of her actions at the time she signed the new will, she would be considered to lack the factio testamenti necessary to create a valid will. This could lead to the will being challenged and potentially invalidated.

• Example 2 (Legal Disqualification as a Beneficiary):

  A man's will names his estranged son as a beneficiary, intending to leave him a substantial inheritance. However, the son had previously been convicted of attempting to murder his father.

  Explanation: In many jurisdictions, laws prevent individuals who have committed serious crimes against the testator (the person making the will), such as attempted murder, from inheriting. Despite being named in the will, the son would likely lack the factio testamenti to legally receive the inheritance due to this disqualifying act, and the bequest to him would fail.

• Example 3 (Freedom from Undue Influence to Create a Will):

  A wealthy, elderly individual who is terminally ill and heavily reliant on a new acquaintance for daily care signs a new will that leaves almost all their significant estate to this acquaintance, despite having close family members and a long-standing will benefiting charities.

  Explanation: If it is later determined that the new will was signed under undue influence, meaning the acquaintance exerted such pressure that the individual's free will was compromised and they were coerced into making the changes, the individual would be deemed to have lacked the factio testamenti to create that specific will. The will could then be challenged and potentially set aside by a court.