Open Will Colombia (Testamento Abierto ante Notario)

An Open Will Colombia (Testamento Abierto ante Notario) is a solemn testamentary instrument through which a natural person (testador) declares their last will regarding the disposition of assets after death, executed before a Notario Público and three witnesses, governed by the Código Civil (CC) — Ley 57 de 1887 — Articles 1055 through 1094, the succession regime of CC Articles 1008 through 1442, and the Decreto Ley 960 de 1970 (Estatuto del Notariado) Article 18 which establishes the notarial formalities.

The Constitución Política de 1991 protects the right to private property under Article 58 and recognises the right to freely dispose of one's assets, subject to constitutional limitations. However, Colombian succession law imposes a mandatory forced heirship regime (asignaciones forzosas under CC Article 1226) that restricts testamentary freedom — the testador may not freely dispose of their entire estate but must respect the rights of forced heirs (herederos forzosos): legitimarios (forced-share heirs, primarily descendants and in their absence ascending relatives), the surviving spouse's porción conyugal (conjugal portion under CC Article 1230), and alimentarios (persons entitled to maintenance obligations under CC Article 411).

Under Colombian succession law, the estate (masa herencial) is divided into portions governed by CC Articles 1226 through 1259. The legítima rigurosa (strict forced share) consists of half the estate, which must be distributed equally among the legitimarios (descendants; in their absence, ascendants). The cuarta de mejoras (improvement quarter) — one quarter of the estate — may be freely allocated among the descendants (only descendants, not other heirs) to improve their share beyond the legítima. The cuarta de libre disposición (free disposal quarter) — the remaining quarter — may be bequeathed to any person or entity chosen by the testador, including non-relatives, charitable organizations, or the State.

The Notario Público before whom the testamento abierto is executed must be a notario of the Círculo Notarial corresponding to the testador's domicile or the place of execution, appointed by the Superintendencia de Notariado y Registro (SNR) under Decreto Ley 960 de 1970. The notario reads the will aloud in the presence of the testador and three witnesses (testigos instrumentales), all of whom sign the escritura pública. The will is registered in the Libro de Protocolo of the notaría and a copy is delivered to the testador. Under CC Article 1068, the witnesses must be legally capable — persons under 18, those with mental incapacity under Ley 1306 de 2009, and persons convicted of certain offences are disqualified.

The Corte Suprema de Justicia — Sala de Casación Civil — has jurisdiction over succession disputes including challenges to the validity of wills (acción de nulidad de testamento under CC Article 1117), petición de herencia (claim for inheritance share under CC Article 1321), and acción de reforma del testamento (action to reform a will that violates forced heirship rights under CC Article 1274). The Juzgado de Familia has first-instance jurisdiction for contested succession proceedings, while uncontested notarial successions (sucesión notarial) may be processed entirely before the Notario Público under Decreto 902 de 1988 and CGP Articles 487 through 489.

A will in Colombia may be revoked at any time by the testador through a subsequent will or codicil (codicilo under CC Articles 1209 through 1223) — the act of revocation is entirely unilateral and does not require the consent of any beneficiary. Under CC Article 1169, a later will that does not expressly revoke earlier wills revokes only those provisions that are incompatible with the new dispositions. Marriage after the execution of a will does not automatically revoke the will under Colombian law, unlike some common law jurisdictions — but the new spouse acquires forced heirship rights that may invalidate specific bequests.

The impuesto de herencia was eliminated in Colombia by Ley 1607 de 2012. However, inherited assets are subject to impuesto de renta as ganancia ocasional (occasional gain) under Estatuto Tributario Article 302 — the first 7,700 UVT (approximately COP$383.452.300 for 2025) of inherited assets are exempt, and the excess is taxed at 10% for forced heirs and 20% for non-forced heirs.

An Open Will (Testamento Abierto) Colombia is needed whenever a person wishes to exercise their constitutional right to determine how their assets will be distributed after death, within the limits established by the forced heirship regime of the Código Civil. Without a valid will, Colombian succession law applies the rules of intestate succession (sucesión intestada under CC Articles 1040 through 1054) — distributing the estate according to the statutory orders of succession, which may not reflect the testador's actual wishes.

The will is needed when a person with descendants wishes to allocate the cuarta de mejoras (improvement quarter under CC Article 1242) to favour specific children or grandchildren over others. Without a will, the cuarta de mejoras is distributed equally among all descendants as part of the legítima — the will is the only mechanism to direct this quarter to specific descendants.

A testamento abierto is needed when a person wishes to make specific bequests (legados under CC Articles 1133 through 1174) — leaving particular assets (a house, a vehicle, artwork, cash amounts) to specific individuals, charitable organizations, or institutions. Legados are charged against the cuarta de libre disposición unless the testador directs them against the cuarta de mejoras (only benefiting descendants).

The will is required when a person with no forced heirs (no descendants, no ascendants, and no spouse or compañero/a permanente) wishes to direct the distribution of their entire estate. Without forced heirs, the testador has complete testamentary freedom and may leave assets to friends, institutions, or charitable causes — but without a will, the estate passes to collateral relatives (siblings, then nephews/nieces) under the intestate succession rules, or ultimately to the ICBF (Instituto Colombiano de Bienestar Familiar) as the herencia vacante (vacant estate) under CC Article 1051.

A testamento abierto is needed when a foreign national residing in Colombia wishes to designate how their Colombian assets will be distributed. Under CC Article 1054, succession of movable property located in Colombia follows Colombian law, while immovable property (bienes inmuebles) in Colombia is always governed by Colombian succession law regardless of the testador's nationality. Foreign nationals with assets in multiple countries should consider a Colombia-specific will to avoid conflicts of law.

The document is needed when a person wishes to appoint an albacea (estate executor under CC Articles 1271 through 1317) to manage the administration and distribution of the estate, especially when the estate includes business interests, ongoing commercial operations, or complex assets requiring professional management during the succession process.

A will is needed when parents wish to designate a guardian (curador or guardador) for minor children under CC Articles 428 through 582 and Ley 1098 de 2006 (Código de la Infancia y la Adolescencia) in the event both parents die simultaneously.

A valid Open Will (Testamento Abierto) Colombia under Código Civil Articles 1055 through 1094 and Decreto Ley 960 de 1970 must contain the following essential elements to be enforceable and to withstand challenge before the Juzgado de Familia or the Corte Suprema de Justicia.

Testador Identification: Full legal name, cédula de ciudadanía number, date of birth, marital status (soltero/a, casado/a, en unión marital de hecho, divorciado/a, viudo/a), domicile, and declaration of legal capacity (capacidad legal) of the testador. Under CC Article 1061, any natural person who is of legal age (18 years under CC Article 34) and of sound mind (sano juicio) may make a will. Persons under interdicción judicial for mental incapacity under Ley 1306 de 2009 lack testamentary capacity. The notario must verify the testador's identity and assess their apparent mental clarity.

Family Declaration: A declaration of the testador's family composition — names and identification of spouse or compañero/a permanente (under Ley 54 de 1990), descendants (hijos matrimoniales, hijos extramatrimoniales, hijos adoptivos — all with equal succession rights under Constitución Article 42), and ascendants (parents). This declaration is critical because forced heirs (herederos forzosos) have constitutional and legal rights that the will cannot override: the legítima rigurosa (half the estate) must be distributed equally among legitimarios under CC Article 1226.

Forced Heirship Compliance: The testamentary dispositions must respect the asignaciones forzosas (forced allocations) under CC Article 1226: (1) the legítima rigurosa — 50% of the heritable estate distributed equally among legitimarios (descendants; in absence of descendants, ascendants); (2) the cuarta de mejoras — 25% allocable only among descendants (CC Article 1242); (3) the porción conyugal — the surviving spouse's share under CC Article 1230; and (4) alimentos forzosos — mandatory support obligations under CC Article 411 (minor children, disabled children, dependent parents, former spouses with court-ordered support). Dispositions that violate forced heirship are subject to the acción de reforma del testamento under CC Article 1274.

Specific Bequests (Legados): Detailed description of any specific bequests of particular assets to named beneficiaries. Each legado should identify the asset (real property by matrícula inmobiliaria; vehicles by placa and VIN; bank accounts by institution and account number; personal property by description), the beneficiary's full name and cédula, and the portion of the estate against which the legado is charged (cuarta de libre disposición or cuarta de mejoras for descendants).

Residual Estate Clause: Designation of the heir(s) (herederos) who receive the residual estate (remanente) after specific bequests. Under CC Article 1104, the testador may designate herederos for the cuarta de libre disposición. The legítima rigurosa passes to legitimarios by operation of law and does not require designation.

Executor Appointment (Albacea): Optional designation of an albacea (executor) under CC Articles 1271 through 1317 to administer the estate, pay debts, distribute assets, and represent the estate in legal proceedings. The albacea must accept the appointment and may be either an individual or a fiduciary institution. The testador should specify the scope of the albacea's powers and whether compensation (asignación) is provided.

Guardianship Designation: Optional designation of a guardian (curador testamentario under CC Article 460) for minor children, in case both parents die or become incapacitated. The designation is subject to judicial confirmation by the Juzgado de Familia under Ley 1098 de 2006.

Notarial Formalities: The testamento abierto must be executed as an escritura pública before a Notario Público under Decreto Ley 960 de 1970 Article 18, in the presence of three testigos instrumentales (instrumental witnesses) who are legally capable under CC Article 1068. The notario reads the will aloud to the testador and witnesses, all parties sign the escritura, and the original is incorporated into the notaría's Libro de Protocolo. A copia auténtica (certified copy) is delivered to the testador.

Forms-legal.com provides this Open Will Colombia template as a practical starting point for estate planning. Every will should be reviewed by an abogado especialista en derecho de sucesiones to confirm compliance with forced heirship rules, tax implications under the Estatuto Tributario (ganancia ocasional on inherited assets under ET Article 302), and the specific family circumstances of the testador. The Notario Público verifies the formal validity of the will, but substantive compliance with forced heirship requires legal analysis.