유언에 관한 법적 고찰 및 여대생들의 의식조사

Legal Inquiry on Will and Consciousness of Female University Students on the Issue

Everyone is mortal and can leave a will that would become legally effective at the time of death. The purpose of will is to respect the last opinion of the deceased. The legal system adopts a very complicated formality to clarify the meaning of a will. Most of lawsuits regarding a will deal with the issue whether the will follows the formalities the legal system requires. In the civil law, one can leave a will in five formalities ― a holographic testament, an audio-recorded testament, an attested testament, a mystic testament and a nuncupative testament. If a will cannot be classified into these five categories, it is invalid. The will would also become invalid if the deceased did not have the capability to leave a will, or the will was witnessed by an incapable witness. Today, the testation (donation of one's wealth by a will) has a special meaning. The purpose of this study is to promote a clear understanding of a will through a legal inquiry, and to provide an opportunity to think about the will by conducting a research on various consciousness of female university students regarding the issue. After all, a will is a promise one makes to oneself when he or she was alive to make his or her life more fulfilling and active, rather the last words about his or her wealth and status before the death.