MEMORIAS Y CÉDULAS TESTAMENTARIAS: REVISIÓN JURISPRUDENCIAL SOBRE EL TESTAMENTO OLÓGRAFO Y SUS REQUISITOS Y CARACTERÍSTICAS SEGÚN EL DERECHO COMÚN, FORAL CATALÁN Y NAVARRO.

Abstract

Testamentary memoranda, as statements of a person's last will written in that person's own handwriting and incorporated by reference into another will, were old familiar documents in pre-Civil Code practice, doctrine and case law. Accordingly, at an early stage the Supreme Court ratified their legal value as an integral element of the wills to which they belong, provided that they are mentioned in it. In general law, on the other hand, ever since the Civil Code took force, testamentary memoranda are effective only if they meet the very same conditions as a holographic will: They must be made by a person of full legal age, written by that person, dated and signed, attested and notarised. Therefore such a document could well be classified as a holographic will complementary to another will. This paper is devoted to these and other controversial questions, taking account of the most-recent case law on the subject and form as a guarantee of genuine testamentary wishes.