Controversy has always surrounded issues of inheritance, especially if the person died intestate, without making a will. PAUL OKAH speaks with a cross section of Nigerians on when it’s right to make a will.
Important to make will
A will is a written legal document by which a person gives instructions with respect to how he wants his estates or property to devolve after his demise.
The person who makes a will is known as a testator. The following are the merits of making a will while still alive: A will specifies the guardian(s) appointed for minors.
A will clearly states the names of persons to benefit from the assets of the deceased.
A will states Executor or Trustee appointed by the testator. You can determine who gets your estate through a will.
A testator may specify in his will his funeral wishes.
One of the ways a testator achieves his last wishes is by inserting conditional gifts in his will.
It is advisable that every living being prepare his will ready; it minimizes family disputes.
Making wills also protects children and vulnerable beneficiaries from exclusion where the testator is no longer alive.
Wills are always specific and detailed and its simplicity saves the beneficiaries from legal tussles. The list is inexhaustible but I’ll have to stop here.
Finally, for a will to be valid it must be in writing. It must be signed by the testator or signed in the testator’s name by some other person in the presence and by the direction of the testator.
The testator makes or acknowledges the signature in the presence of at least two witnesses present at the same time.
The witnesses to the ill must attest and subscribe the Will in the presence of the testator.
…Madujibe Chukwu, legal practitioner
No time is early
The right time to make a will is when a man or woman is still alive and healthy enough to make decisions.
This will save the family he or she will leave behind from endless legal tussles or arguments that would arise if the person had died intestate.
Many times, families have been plunged into squabbles over inheritance because a man was dilly dallying and procrastinating in making a will. Then, death strikes and there is nothing else to do to remedy the situation.
So, there is need for a man or woman to get his or will ready as soon as possible. You never know when death will come.
Death is inevitable, so no need wasting time to make all the money in the world before making a will.
A single man or woman can make a will. A married man or woman can make a will. A divorced person can make a will.
It is not restricted to anyone, marital status or gender as long as you attain adult age and can be able to make a decision on your own.
Also, a will is subject to change whenever the testator feels like it. For instance, you can make a will as a single man or woman and then change it when you get married. You can also make a will as a newly married man or woman and then change it when you start having children. It all depends on you.
In a nutshell, there is no time that is too early to make a will, but ill health may make it too late for you to make a will, let alone the inevitable phenomenon called death.
…Josephine Balogun, civil servant
Once one is wealthy
The right time to make a will is when a man or woman has attained a certain height in the economy and has amassed enough wealth to bequeath his or her children. For instance, what does a poor man have to bequeath his children if not debt and problems?
Therefore, making a will should be done by wealthy people towards the end of their lives. That will settle any problem that may arise among the children he will leave behind because the will specifies who gets what and when.
In fact, in our part of the world, as Africans, especially Nigerians, whenever a man is reminded of making a will, the next thought will be that you are wishing him death.
In fact, if it is a woman reminding her husband of making a will, he will start thinking that she wants to kill him in order to inherit his wealth, especially if they don’t have children. So, making a will attracts mutual suspicion.
On the part of the woman, she would want the husband to make a will so that nobody will contend properties with her when she becomes a widow.
Then on the part of the man, he would want to think that he still has a long time to live on earth and there is no need to make a will just yet because death is still very far away from him.
Nevertheless, men and women are advised to make a will as soon as they have amassed wealth and living comfortably because death does not announce when it will come.
Many relatives are always waiting in the wings to contest for properties, especially if a man died childless, so there is need for a man to put his house in order before kicking the bucket.
…Ahmadu Yusuf, businessman
Should be done before death
The need for a man to make a will as soon as possible cannot be overemphasised. The issue of inheritance of properties is a persistent one and has torn a once peaceful family apart. Some even go diabolic. Some go to the extent of influencing lawyers to change the will of a man once he is dead.
This is where integrity matters for lawyers handling the estate of a deceased man. Some criminal or unscrupulous lawyers will connive with a family member to alter the will of a dead man, thereby doing a great disservice to the memory.
So, it is always good when a man makes his will on time so that the children will know what is their own and contest it when the father is still alive.
It will equally provide an opportunity for the family to be in peace even when the head of the family is no longer there.
Oftentimes, you hear of relatives dispossessing a widow of her husband’s properties because he died childless or the children are still very small. This is usually because the man did not make a will. Therefore, the man will be doing his family a lot of service if he makes a will as soon as he is married. That way, he will save his widow and children from any form of harassment or intimidation from or by his relatives when he’s no more.
…Patrick Ubong, legal practitioner
