A single woman, with no children and no surviving parents, instructed her bank by means of a typed, dated, and signed letter that, upon her death, the money deposited in that bank should be transferred to her niece. After her passing, doubts arise as to the validity of this instruction.
Answer:
For this instruction to be valid, it must comply with the requirements of a holographic will, which, among other conditions, requires that the entire document be handwritten by the testator, in accordance with Article 668 of the Spanish Civil Code.
This article establishes that the testator may dispose of her assets as inheritance or legacy, and in case of doubt, if the intention of the testator is clear, the disposition shall be considered made as a universal title or inheritance.
Since the typed letter does not meet this requirement, the instruction given to the bank must be considered null and void under Articles 687 and 672 of the Civil Code.
Even if there were a valid will referring to this banking instruction, such instruction would be null unless it constituted a partition disposition as regulated by Article 1056 of the Civil Code.
