A Will is a legal document that allows you to specify who should benefit from your property, money and possessions after you’ve died.

.-Cédula or original passport of the person granting the will and 3 witnesses.
.- Exact information of the testator and his/her goods.
.- Information of the heirs and executor of the will in case it is needed. 
.- Names of the witnesses.
.- Be at least 18 years of age, and
.- Be of sound mind (sometimes referred to as being “competent” to make a will), and
Act voluntarily, without undue influence or fraud by other persons.
.- To be “of sound mind,” or “competent,” a person must understand exactly what property they own, and the consequences of what will happen to that property according to the terms of the will they’re signing.

Your will does not take effect until you die. The people you leave your property to have no rights to your property, and you keep all your rights, until after you pass away.

After you pass on, all your Ecuadorian property will be divided evenly among your closest descendants.

.- This usually means your children

But in the rare case that you do not have children and do have grandchildren, the property will be divided among them.

.- IF you do not have any living descendants, 50% of your property will be granted to your spouse and 50% will be granted to your parents.

.- If either your parents or spouse are not surviving, 100% of the property will be granted to the surviving party.

.- IF you do not have living parents or a spouse, your property will be divided evenly among your siblings.

.- IF you do not have any living siblings, 50% of your property will be divided evenly among your nieces and nephews, and 50% will go to the Ecuadorian state.
 

50% of your property must be divided evenly among your closest descendants.  If you do not have descendants, this portion follows the chain of heirs outlined above.

​

25% must also go to the heirs mentioned above, but does not need to be divided evenly among the receiving parties. You can decide to give this 25% to just one person, or divide it however you want in varying percentages as long as the recipients are qualified by the above regulations

​

25% is available for you to give to whomever you choose. This may be a friend, a company, a charity, a family member too far down the chain of inheritance to receive the other slices of the pie… it can be anyone.

It is possible to register a foreign will here in Ecuador but that is a little risky, because as mentioned above the judge can decide to disregard it if it is found to be in conflict with Ecuadorian laws. It is simpler and more secure to use a foreign will for foreign property and an Ecuadorian will for Ecuadorian property.

When a married couple owns property together and one spouse dies, 50% of the property will remain in the name of the other spouse, and 50% will be divided according to the will of the deceased or the default rules of inheritance.

Executors are the people you name in your Will to carry out your wishes after you die. They will be responsible for all aspects of sorting your affairs after you’ve passed away such as notifying people that you have died, arranging your funeral, collating information about your assets and liabilities and then distributing your estate to your chosen beneficiaries.

When creating a Will, one of the first things to consider is Guardianship of your children. If you currently have Parental Responsibility over your children and they are under 18 years old, then you can include in your Will the appointment of a Guardian to look after your children whilst they are under 18 years old. This takes effect only if there is no one else with parental responsibility over your children when you pass away. The importance of appointing a Guardian is one of the main reasons why parents make sure they have a valid Will in place. 

You can also include your children as beneficiaries in your Will even though they are very young. When this occurs it is sensible to consider the age you would like your children to reach before being able to access their inheritance, typical ages are 18, 21 or 25. Whilst the child is under that age then their inheritance is managed on their behalf by people called Trustees. These are people that can also be appointed in your will.