WILL

Reading through one of the national dailies, I came across where the families of the late Chief Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu the biafran war lord contesting the marriage between their late brother and the beautiful wife Bianca Ojukwu.

Without being told this proves was demanded for because of the estate the war lord left behind and this made me ask myself few questions, would it have been a different thing if he had died leaving behind a will? Or if the woman had told the family that she does not want anything from the estate of the deceased?

What is a will?

This is a legal declaration by a person called testator to name one or more person to manage his or her estate and provides for the distribution of his property at death.

Who can make a will?

The general believe is that will is usually made by an old person and mostly men (husband) and this is untrue and totally wrong. A will can be made by any person man or woman, a person of legal age which is between the age of 18 and 21 depending on the state and must have the right mental capacity (sound mind) a blind person can make a will provided it is read to him and he understands the content of the will in the presence of witnesses.

Advantage of making a will?

A will helps a person to determine what happens to his/her property after his death, it helps to give instructions he may wish to carry out if he is no longer alive, this also prevent the estate of the testators to be govern by customary law which the testator may not be comfortable with and it prevent lapse. It gives the testator peace of mind that his estate has been properly shared among those he/she wants. He has the opportunity to make positive demonstration of his wishes. 

Features of a valid will

A will is testamentary in nature that is it speaks after the death of the maker, it is also ambulatory in nature, which means it is capable of being changed or revoked during the lifetime of the testator.

It is a voluntary way of disposing one’s personal or moveable properties because this is usually made independently without undue influence by anyone.

When is a will said to be valid?

For a will to be valid it must be written, signed by the testator and witnessed by at least two persons .no special form of writing is required but I will advise that it should be typed. Thumbprint is sufficient where the testator does not have any signature. 

To make a good and valid will the testator must be a free agent that is his actions must not be influenced or assisted by anybody especially the beneficiary of such will. Hall V Hall

This discussion won’t be complete without pointing out the fact that when a beneficiary to a will attest to it such beneficiary forfeits the gift, the beneficiary extends to the spouse,  children of the testator.

Oyenike Alliyu-Adebiyi LLB(hons)BL