A new draft law governing persons and families has proposed, among other changes, ways to address the authenticity of a private will to prevent cases of forgery or alteration of a document guaranteeing property inheritance right to an intended person after one’s death.

While explaining the relevance of the bill to lawmakers on March 18, the Minister of Gender and Family Promotion, Valentine Uwamariya, said that the proposed change is in response to conflicts and contestations among heirs after the death of the testator on the authenticity of the will privately made by the latter—some of them (heirs) accusing others of forgery or alteration, which sometimes leads to lawsuits.

Considering the number of private notaries around the country and the government ones, the draft law proposes that the testator will make their will in an authentic form to avoid forgery by heirs, the government indicated in an explanatory note of the bill.

Article 367 (proposed) of the bill, which provides for the procedure for making a will, an authentic will is the one made by the testator before the notary or the civil registrar of the testator’s place of residence or domicile.

The civil registrar or the notary keeps the original document and records the date on which the will is made along with the testator’s name and domicile or residence in the appropriate register. The document is also kept electronically, the bill states.

It adds that the original will and the register are kept confidential and only made accessible to those involved in the will after the testator’s death.

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MP Justine Mukobwa said some Rwandan families get along well and have the head of a family whom members accept and respect, and when a parent has reached a weak point [is about to die], he/she reveals a will to someone he trusts in the family, and whom other people might be respectful of.

"I would like to know, does this mean that such an act will no longer be valid unless it is done before a notary,” she asked. On why it is necessary for even families that are living harmoniously to go to a notary for a will, Minister Mujawamariya said that it is meant to ensure transparency so that the cases of people who were changing a will do not happen because normally, "laws are enacted for protection and prevention purposes.”

"If families are living in harmony, I think it is very easy to do it such that it becomes a culture that for a will to be authentic, it should be notarised so that it is a document recognised by the authority,” she said, indicating that the move is intended to prevent inheritance-related conflicts in families.

Disclosure of a will

Article 369 (proposed) of the bill provides that within 90 days of the testator’s death, the head of the family sets the date for the disclosure of the will to the heirs of the deceased. On that date, there is an established succession council. An interested person may attend the disclosing session.

If the will is not disclosed after this period, an interested person may file a claim to the competent court of the deceased’s place of domicile or residence to order disclosure of the will.

The lower chamber of parliament approved the relevance of the bill on March 18, and it will be scrutinised by a responsible parliamentary committee prior to being put to a vote into law.