Will, after how long does it expire?

The will is the only act with which it is possible to dispose of the assets after death and to be valid and effective it requires compliance with precise requirements.
Today, there are many fewer people who make wills than in the past, although in recent years there has been a slight increase in bequests.
An investigation conducted by the Solidarity Will Committee in 2021 shows that behind this reticence there is often a lack of knowledge of the functioning of the will and its usefulness, especially for those who are not considered rich or wealthy.
Very often, even those who would like to make a will continually postpone its writing, not so much out of good luck but because they do not consider it necessary immediately.
It is no coincidence that many are worried about the expiry of the will, perhaps after hearing news about contested wills and more recent wills in favor of older ones.
Let's clarify.
When the will expires It is best to eliminate the doubt immediately: the will does not expire, it is fully valid until the testator revokes it.
It is irrelevant how many years before the death the provisions were written, the will does not expire even after more than 50 years.
This applies to holographic, public and secret wills, as long as they comply with the legal requirements.
The will, in fact, can be void or voidable regardless of its date but due to failure to comply with the relevant provisions of the law.
read also Wills, how and when you can challenge special wills The laws on wills contain an important exception, namely that of special wills.
These are testamentary provisions that follow particular rules, due to the equally particular needs of the testator.
The expiration of the will is also an exception.
Special wills are reserved for those who are in danger of death and persistently unable to follow the ordinary rules and are therefore exempt from compliance with the most stringent requirements, such as the characteristics of the witnesses and the person receiving the provisions.
For example, special wills are permitted in situations of war and natural disasters.
In any case, special wills are valid for 3 months from the return to the normal situation, when the testator has the possibility of making a will in the ordinary way.
This is the only case in which the will expires, in favor of legitimate succession or any other wills of the deceased.
read also Colombian will Silvio Berlusconi, what it is and what it provides How long does the will last, tacit revocation What is often interpreted as expiry of the will is the mechanism of tacit revocation, with which the testator orders the annulment of the will in question without declare his will in a public document.
This can happen with the writing of a new will, in particular article 682 of the Civil Code establishes that the most recent will revokes the previous one with regards to provisions incompatible with the expressed wishes, unless the testator specifies otherwise.
In this case we speak of a “later will incompatible with the earlier one.
When you make a new will, as long as it is valid, the previous one expires, which no longer has any value.
Tacit revocation, however, can also take the form of other acts and behaviors of the testator incompatible with the testamentary provisions.
For example, this is what happens when the will leaves some assets to an heir but before death the testator sells them or gives them to others.
In detail, article 686 of the Civil Code includes among the methods of tacit revocation "the alienation and transformation of the tied thing".
Finally, the tacit revocation of the will also occurs with the destruction of the holographic will and the withdrawal of the secret will that lacks the requirements of the holographic will.
In any case of revocation of the will, the previously drawn up will acquires value (provided it exists and is valid), which is why this principle is sometimes confused with a "expiration".
read also Revoke a will already written, when it is possible and how to do it