Cancel without being able to sign

Cancel without being able to sign

"I had signed an inheritance agreement with my two children, who are my sole heirs. Now we want to terminate it. How should we proceed, given that I can no longer write?

Yves, Meyrin

Any adult who wishes to settle his or her estate during his or her lifetime can either draw up a will or enter into an inheritance agreement. A contract of inheritance is a contract with one or more persons under which the person making the will settles all or part of his or her estate to avoid any future disputes between heirs. For such a contract to be valid, it must be drawn up and signed before a notary, in the presence of two witnesses. However, the parties to the contract of inheritance may terminate it at any time; a written and signed agreement is then sufficient.

The agreement must be signed by hand, unless the situation is exceptional and recognised as such by law. These include situations where a blind person is required to sign a document, or where the signature of an individual who is unable to sign due to illiteracy or physical incapacity is required. In the latter case, the signature may be replaced by a hand mark (which must be duly legalised) or by an authentic attestation, i.e. a document in which the notary notes that the signatory is unable to sign and attests that the contents of the deed are indeed in accordance with his or her wishes. Legalisation is a written declaration by the notary attesting to the authenticity of a handwritten mark on a document, in order to give it probative value. All you have to do is go to the notary's office with a piece of identification or two witnesses. Once the notary has identified the contracting party and ascertained that he or she is unable to sign, he or she will certify that the mark on the deed is indeed that of the person who claims to have made it. The declarations contained in the document in question are therefore presumed to emanate from that person.

As you will have realised, to cancel your inheritance agreement, you need to draw up a written agreement with your children. If it is possible for you to mark the agreement by hand, you can go to a notary of your choice with an identity document so that he can legalise it; if this is not possible, you can ask him for a certificate attesting to the authenticity of the agreement.