Can parents authorize their children to make a will on their behalf?

According to Article 562 of the 2015 Civil Code, an authorization contract is a document recording the agreement between the authorizing party and the authorized party, according to which the authorizing party will assign tasks to the authorized party to perform on its behalf within the scope of authorization and a certain authorization period, the authorizing party only has to pay remuneration if there is an agreement or if the law so stipulates.

Thus, authorization can be understood as the act in which an individual or legal entity agrees to represent another individual or legal entity to perform civil transactions on their behalf within a scope and time limit agreed upon by the two parties.

However, in cases where parents authorize their children to make a will, Clause 1, Article 48 of the 2014 Notary Law must be applied.

Specifically, if the testator wants to make a written will that is notarized or authenticated, he/she must personally request the will to be notarized. This means that he/she cannot authorize another person to request the will to be notarized on his/her behalf.

In addition, according to the provisions of Article 639 of the 2015 Civil Code, the testator may request a notary to come directly to his/her place of residence to make a will. The procedure for making a will at the testator's residence is similar to the procedure for making a will at a notary practice organization according to the provisions of Article 636 of the Civil Code.

Therefore, if parents are poor and cannot travel, they can request a notary to come to their home to make a will according to the law.

Thus, the testator cannot authorize his child to make a will and notarize the will on his behalf, but must do it himself.