Iranian Will and Testament Laws
Iranian Will and Testament Laws is based on the Code of Civil Law. The formal requirements for drawing up a will are articulated in the Non-Litigious Jurisdiction Act. The taxation law of testament partly consists of the same rates as inheritance tax.
Iranian Will and Testament Laws: Tenets and Foundations
The legal frame of the will and testament law in Iran is akin to the inheritance law. Both of these notions are considered as “personal status” and thus excluded from the national laws in two cases. First, when a foreigner makes a will. According to the Article 7 of the Code of Civil Law (CCL), National foreigners are subject to the laws of their respecting states, as far as the case concerns their personal status. The second case is about religious minorities in Iran. Principle 13 of the Constitution provides that this sort of issues has to be settled in line with the rules of their religions.
Iranian will and testament laws are based on two pivotal codes: the aforementioned CCL, Articles 825-860, and the “Non-Litigious Jurisdiction Act” (NLJA), Articles 276-299. There is also an “act on the manner of drawing up a will”, or “statute of wills”. This act was ratified on February 10, 1939, but later on repeated in those articles of NLJA. Irrespective of these two laws, there are also some other relevant provisions which we will indicate in the following parts.
Basic Rules of the Will and Testament Laws in Iran
The CCL provides substantive laws on this ground, while the NLJA sets up the necessary formal framework for the testamentary issues. the latter also refers to the collateral regulations which are prepared to supplement the NLJA rules.
A) basic rules concerning the will and testament: from the CCL
The CCL generally divides wills into two categories: “contractual wills” and “testamentary disposition”. When the testator entrusts certain individuals with conducting certain tasks within the will, the resulted document is a contractual will. When a testator transfers certain items of her properties to certain individuals, the resulted document represents a testamentary disposition. The validity of the latter depends on the acceptance of the potential inheritor after the death of the testator. It is also possible to transfer the properties to some uncertain people, like indigents. In this case, the acceptance clause becomes irrelevant.
In the contractual will however, there is no acceptance clause and the entrusted individual cannot refuse to conduct the task after the death of the testator, but will be considered as dismissed simply by doing nothing. Wills followed by fatal suicide have no legal effect. There is also a limit on the economic value of the will. If the testator transfer more than one third of the whole properties’ value, the effect of the transfer of the excess amount depends on the permission of the interested heirs of the decedent. future offspring or individuals who are not born yet are not capable to be an inheritor. Expected baby who be born alive is an exception. The testator may also appoint an executer as well as a supervisor for administrative purposes.
B) Formal considerations for will and testament: from the NLJA
From a formal point of view, NLJA divides wills and testaments into three groups: official wills, self-written wills and mystic wills. Official wills are those wills which are notarized in the notary offices. Self-written wills are valid only if could be described as holographic (handwritten). Mystic wills have to be signed by testator and deposited in the public offices as articulated in the respecting regulation. This regulation has been ordered by the Article 279 and is simply known as the Art. 279 regulation.
This regulation grants discretionary power to the Ministry of Justice for the purpose of determining the aforementioned public offices. Illiterate individuals are banned form making a mystic will. Although the will has to be made in a written form, the law allows oral wills in the occasions of emergency like war. The validity of all other inconsistent wills depends on the confirmation of the interested persons, including heirs and inheritors.
Tax Laws Concerning Testament Issues in Iran
Article. 38 of the “Direct Taxation Act” divides the tax rates for the properties obtained by the means of a will, into two groups: first group consists of “heir” inheritors and the second group includes other inheritors. For the first group, the same rates as in the taxation of the inheritance (Art. 17) are applicable and for the second group, there are two separate rates: if the inheritor is a legal entity, the rate of the Art. 105 is applicable (25%), and if the inheritor is an individual, the rates of the Art. 131 are applicable:
Up to the 500,000,000 RLs: 15%
For the amount in excess of 500,000,000 RLs up to the 1,000,000,000 RLs: 20%
For the amount in excess of 1,000,000,000 RLs: 25%
Last Words: Is There Anything Peculiar to the Iranian Will and Testament Laws?
Iranian will and testament laws are quite clear both in terms of rules and procedures. There is a well-established practice in this ground and no extra laws are expected to fill the gaps. The CCL provisions are based on a long-standing tradition and the NLJA provisions seem to be detailed more than needed. Admittedly, if one juxtaposes respective common law rules with the brief Iranian rules and regulations, the difference is more than remarkable.
Brief but detailed, the difference mostly comes from the common law pluralism in fabricating new terms for every chapter of law. Iranian will and testament laws are also subject to the general rules like capacity and evidence. For example, in common law, there is a special procedure for proving the validity of a testament, known as probate, while in Iranian law the usual procedure is applicable in this regard. So, after all, Iranian will and testament laws struck us as more comprehensible and straightforward.
