The Institute of Joint Will of Spouses

If in Russia the main means of posthumous disposal of their property was a will, now the Civil code of the Russian Federation has been amended to expand the ability of citizens to dispose of their property in the event of death. One of the new institutions is the joint will of the spouses, which allows spouses in a registered marriage to enter into a joint will. The objective of this work is exploring the institute of the joint will of spouses by studying the legislation, analysing the doctrine and legal precedents of the Russian Federation and other countries concerning this theme. This research studies the institute of the joint will of spouses according to the Russian succession law by examining its place in the system of performing transactions of disposition of property, conditions of its performance and execution, as well as cessation of execution. The introduction of the joint will of spouses will significantly expand the opportunities of the testator for post-mortuary disposition, will allow the spouses, who are united not only by common domestic life, but also by private trust-based relations, to determine the further destiny of their private and common property, this will increase the number of wills further. It is important to notice that the very idea of introducing this novel is good, but the law itself needs serious additions and changes, because many of its regulations are ambiguous or ignore all the situation's aspects.