The main difference between probate inheritance is that the testator has the right to voluntarily express his will during his lifetime. The preparation of the relevant document is carried out personally by the owner of the property during his lifetime. Confirmation is done by a notary or by another person authorized to do so. The process of inheritance by will, types and forms of will are regulated by the legislator. The assignee may accept the property of the deceased only with strict observance of the civil legislation of the Russian Federation. This article will focus on the form and content of the will, the types of wills. It is worth starting the consideration of the issue with the concepts and principles of such inheritance.
Who can inherit property by will?
The testator has the right to independently appoint his heirs. Among these may be completely strangers and even public and private organizations. This is the main advantage of testamentary inheritance.
If the relatives of the deceased are not indicated in the will, then they are deprived of the right to enter into inheritance rights and cannot claim their shares in the property left (cash savings). The only exceptions are persons assigned by law to mandatory heirs (these may be minor children and other dependents of the originator).
The testator has the right to determine the list of bequeathing property and the shares in this property due to each heir. If the testator has not prescribed in the will the size of the shares of the heirs, then the property and funds, bequeathed to two or more persons, shall be considered as bequests in equal shares. 
The main principles of probate inheritance
- A citizen has the right to appoint heirs, that is, indicate the persons who will inherit the inheritance due in the event of the death of the main heir.
- The secret of this document is unbreakable, regardless of the form and order of the will. If the compiler establishes the fact of the disclosure of the text, then he has every right to recover moral damages from the perpetrator or to resort to other ways to protect his rights in accordance with applicable law.
- If the object to be inherited is an indivisible thing (for example, a car, a house), then such a thing is inherited in parts in accordance with their value. In this case, the heirs accept the inheritance in accordance with the bequeathed parts of this thing. Disputes of heirs related to the procedure for using an indivisible object, not subject to division in kind, or the distribution of its shares, are resolved only in court.
Mandatory conditions
Life-time disposition of their property may be left by a person who, at the time of expression of his will, is fully capable.
Drafting any form of will on behalf of several citizens is unacceptable. A document may be drawn up by only one citizen. 
The execution of a testamentary disposition by the representative of the testator is completely excluded by law. A citizen cannot delegate to another person the expression of his last will.
The testator has the right not to inform anyone about a change in his will or its cancellation.
The testator has the right to dispose of any of his property or part thereof, as well as property that may be acquired in the future.
A simple written form of a will, not certified in accordance with the requirements of the law, does not entail any legal consequences, with the exception of those specified in the Civil Code (described below).
Content
The text of the will must be included:
- Full date and place of compilation of the document.
- Data of the testator (name, address, year of birth).
- The list of testamentary property.
- Data of the heirs (name, address, date of birth).
- Clarification of Article 1149 of the Civil Code.
- Information on the legal capacity of a citizen (testator).
- Information about reading the text of the document by the testator or notary.
- Information about the certification of the will by a notary.
- Registration number of the document and the amount paid at the rate.
- Signatures of a notary and testator.
- Post stamp.
Mandatory share, independent of the contents of the will
In order to protect certain groups of citizens with a lower social status, the law prudently designated a list of citizens who will be called to inherit, regardless of the will of the deceased. Mandatory heirs include:
- Children of the testator, disabled or under the age of majority, disabled spouse and parents.
- Disabled dependents who were kept by the deceased for a year or more before his death (heirs of all queues except the first one who were dependent on the testator regardless of their joint residence and heirs who are not close or distant relatives of the deceased, but who were dependent on him and living with him for a year or more until his death).
In certain circumstances, given the material and property status of testamentary heirs and mandatory heirs, the court is entitled to change the amount of the mandatory share or refuse to allocate it to the fully mandatory heir. 
Testament form
A notarized document is executed in writing and certified by a notary public by a notary or an authorized official at the administration of the settlement where the testator lives. The law provides for several types of wills.
It is allowed to write the text of the document using computer technology, as well as in handwritten form.
The finished text must be read and verified by the testator, and if it is not possible to do it yourself, the text is read by the notary public, about which an appropriate note is made in the document.
At the end of the will, the testator's signature is put on or the signature of the person whom the testator trusts (for example, in the case of a serious illness), which is also recorded in the text of the document. 
Upon the expression of the testator’s desire, a witness may be present during the preparation and certification of the will, who is warned about the need to keep the contents of the document secret.
Name and passport details of the witness should also be indicated in the text of the document.
Closed form of will
Drafted and signed by the testator with his own hand. The contents of the closed form of the will can only be known to its drafter.
The finished document, placed in an envelope, in the presence of two witnesses is transferred to a notary public, who seals the will in another envelope. On a notary's envelope witnesses are signed and data about the testator is indicated. A will is kept by a notary until the death of the testator.
The official accepting the envelope with the will is obliged to explain to the testator the procedure for determining the allocation of the mandatory share from the estate in favor of the persons specified in the law as mandatory heirs.
Extraordinary Will
To be implemented if the testator was indeed at the time of compilation in life-threatening circumstances.
Such a written form of a will is drawn up in the presence of two witnesses, and its content should indicate that this document is the last expression of will of the drafter.
In the event of a successful outcome of an emergency, such a document becomes invalid. An exception is if the testator within one month after that did not issue his will in a different form of a will in compliance with the general rules defined by law.
If the drafter died as a result of the above circumstances, then the left document must be recognized as valid and subject to judicial execution at the request of interested parties (for example, heirs).
Certification by other persons
A notarized will is valid, a document certified under the following circumstances:
- The last will of citizens who are being treated in hospitals of hospitals, hospitals and other medical institutions, as well as in institutions where people with disabilities and elderly citizens are held. In these institutions, the head doctor, his deputy or the doctor on duty have the right to certify the document.
- If a citizen is sailing on vessels of the Russian Federation, then the document is certified by the captains of these vessels.
- When a citizen is on a long expedition (Arctic, Antarctic, exploratory, etc.), the head of such an expedition or station has the right to certify the document.
- The wills of persons who are in military service, as well as civilians at the locations of military units and relatives of these citizens, in the absence of the possibility of notarization of the will, are certified by the commanders of the units.
- The wills of persons serving their sentences or those under investigation may be certified by the heads of the institutions where these persons are held (serving their sentences).
Drawing up procedure
A testament made in such conditions is signed by the testator and the witness present.
By law, such a simple form of will is considered certified and is subject to execution in accordance with the requirements of the law.
At the first convenient opportunity, the compiled document should be forwarded to the notary office where the testator is registered and lives.
A similar method of certification is allowed in the absence of a real opportunity to notarize a document. If this opportunity is nevertheless provided, then the will should be certified in the proper manner.
Orders for the right to inherit funds
When opening a deposit in a credit institution (banks and other institutions), a citizen has the opportunity to leave a testamentary disposition regarding his savings. A document is drawn up in writing and certified by an employee of the organization authorized to carry out such operations.
The depositor has the right to indicate in the document the person who will inherit the contribution in the event of his death.
Such an order legally bequeaths a will.