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The ban does not stop at the caregiver: it reaches their family and their church

Last reviewed: September 11, 2026 — VerifiedPoder Judicial

In short

The Code sets two prohibitions and then stretches them much further than people imagine. Article 1661 says the testamentary institution is null when made by an incapacitated person in favour of their guardian, and when made by a sick person in favour of those providing them medical or spiritual assistance during their last illness, if the institution is granted during the illness. Note that in this second case two things are needed at once: the assistance must be during the last illness, and the will must be granted during that illness. The same article carries an express exception: the institution is valid if made in favour of the spouse, or the ascendants, descendants, siblings or nephews and nieces of the decedent or of the surviving spouse. That list is what it is, and nobody is added to it here. And then comes Article 1662, which is worth reading twice: the prohibitions apply to the persons mentioned there and to their relatives within the fourth degree of consanguinity, the second degree of affinity, and to the church, the community or the institute of the religious clergy member or minister. So the ban does not stop at the guardian or at whoever cared for you: it reaches that person’s family and, for a clergy member or minister, it reaches their church, their community or their institute. One drafting detail worth flagging: Article 1661 speaks of medical or spiritual assistance without naming any clergy member, and it is Article 1662 that names one while extending the ban. Both articles are reproduced here and that mismatch is not resolved.

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What is it?

They are Articles 1661 and 1662 of the Civil Code of 2020: which testamentary institutions are null because of the recipient’s position, what kinship exception saves them, and how far that ban reaches.

Who can do it?

Anyone granting a will while ill or under guardianship, and any heir who suspects a will fell into these prohibitions.

Requirements

Documents you need

Cost

Check the current cost with the official agency.

Step by step

  1. Step 1: The incapacitated person and their guardian

    Article 1661(a): the testamentary institution made by an incapacitated person in favour of their guardian is null.

  2. Step 2: The sick person and whoever assists them

    Article 1661(b): in favour of those giving them medical or spiritual assistance during their last illness.

  3. Step 3: With two conditions at once

    That the assistance be during the last illness, and that the institution be granted during the illness. The article requires both.

  4. Step 4: The kinship exception

    The same article saves the institution in favour of the spouse, or the ascendants, descendants, siblings or nephews and nieces of the decedent or of the surviving spouse.

  5. Step 5: And that list is closed

    The article names those persons and nobody else. Not one relative is added here.

  6. Step 6: The ban stretches

    Article 1662: it reaches the mentioned persons’ relatives within the fourth degree of consanguinity and second of affinity.

  7. Step 7: And it reaches the religious institution

    The same article extends it to the church, the community or the institute of the religious clergy member or minister.

  8. Step 8: A mismatch not resolved here

    Article 1661 names no clergy member; it is 1662 that names one while extending the ban. Both are reproduced and neither reading is chosen.

Where to do it

These two articles describe no procedure before any agency: they are causes of nullity of a testamentary clause. The Code does not say here who may raise that nullity, before which forum, with what pleading, at what fee or within what deadline, and none of those gaps is filled here.

How long it takes

Check the current processing time with the official agency.

What to do if something goes wrong

If you are going to make a will while ill and want to leave something to whoever is caring for you, read Article 1661(b) first: the institution in favour of whoever gives you medical or spiritual assistance during your last illness is null if the will is granted during that illness. If that person is your spouse, your mother or father, your child, your sibling or your nephew or niece — or is one of the surviving spouse’s — the same article expressly saves it. If they are not on that list, do not add them yourself. And before treating any indirect arrangement as sound, read Article 1662: the ban is not limited to the person, it reaches their relatives within the fourth degree of consanguinity and second of affinity, and if the one assisting is a clergy member or minister, it reaches their church, their community or their institute. Three things the Code does not say and this guide therefore does not: what the last illness is, whether a hired caregiver who is not a health professional falls under “medical assistance”, and who may request the nullity and within what term. If what you want is how to make a valid will, or who may be a witness, that has its own guide here. MiPRFácil does not represent anyone in court and gives no legal advice.

Common mistakes

  • Believing it is enough that the caregiver is unpaid: Article 1661(b) does not distinguish by payment.
  • Applying the nullity to any illness: the article speaks of the last illness.
  • Forgetting the second condition: the institution must be granted during that illness.
  • Adding relatives to Article 1661’s exception: the list names spouse, ascendants, descendants, siblings and nephews and nieces, and nobody else.
  • Assuming the exception covers an unmarried partner: the article says spouse.
  • Thinking the ban is dodged by leaving it to a relative of the caregiver: Article 1662 reaches the fourth degree of consanguinity and second of affinity.
  • Thinking it is dodged by leaving it to the minister’s church: Article 1662 expressly includes it.
  • Looking in these articles for who raises the nullity and within what term: they do not say.

Frequently asked questions

May I leave my inheritance to whoever cared for me in my last illness?

Article 1661(b) annuls that institution if the person gave you medical or spiritual assistance during that illness and the will was granted during it, except for the kinship exception.

And if the one who cared for me is my daughter?

The same article saves it: the institution is valid in favour of the spouse, ascendants, descendants, siblings or nephews and nieces of the decedent or of the surviving spouse.

Does the ban reach the caregiver’s family?

Article 1662 applies it to the mentioned persons’ relatives within the fourth degree of consanguinity and second degree of affinity.

May it be left to the church of the minister who assisted me?

Article 1662 extends the ban to the church, the community or the institute of the religious clergy member or minister.

Official sources

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

Last verified

September 11, 2026

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