By Gbolahan Oluyemi
In Nigeria, most people do not prioritize estate planning and Will writing. Due to little education on Will writing and estate planning, Nigerians do not prioritize Will writing.
Generally, people believe only aged or terminally ill persons should write a will. However, this is untrue because writing a Will and engaging in estate planning is simply preparing adequately for the future.
The benefits of writing a Will outweighs the sentiments surrounding a Will. In simple language, failure to prepare a Will and have an estate plan is a plan to fail one’s beneficiaries.
Under the law, when a person dies without writing a Will, the person is said to have died intestate. However, when a person leaves a Will, he/she is said to have died testate. Different laws guides dying intestate and dying testate. However, dying testate affords more benefits than the other.
Arguably, the most convincing reason for everyone to write a Will is to protect one’s beneficiaries such as spouse, children and dependents. When a person dies without a Will (i.e. intestate), the properties are not administered in line with the person’s wishes.
Instead, the properties are distributed under the administration of estates law applicable in the state. Most times, this does not reflect the desires of the deceased property owner.
Peculiar situations such as young children with higher financial needs, a child with special-need, children outside wedlock, dependent relatives and charity or religious projects are not provided for adequately. This is because the laws were enacted on a general assessment of the society and not based on the peculiarity of each case.
When a person dies without leaving a Will, the properties will be administered by persons who may not necessarily be the desired persons of the owner of the properties. Writing a Will allows the writer to decide who administers his/her estate. It also allows him/her to decide how every property is shared.
It is also common that people have properties and entitlement unknown to their relatives. When people in this category dies without leaving a Will, their family may be unable to recover these properties because they don’t even know such property exists. A Will allows everyone to list all their properties and state who should benefit from them.
A Will can be used to gift your property under certain conditions. For example, a wife can state in her Will that her husband gets her property and should he remarry, the property passes to the children. A Will can also be used to ease the succession of a family business from one generation to the other.
Additionally, a Will is a potent tool to protect underage children and dependents from being deprived of their parent’s assets by extended relatives and friends. A Will also help to cater for dependents irrespective of their status or relationship.
For instance, Mr A may desire to sponsor five children through primary school every year, once Mr A dies, this plan dies with him. However, Mr A can use his Will to ensure his resources are applied to achieve his objectives even long after Mr A’s death.
Surprisingly, Will writing is not expensive, Leadway Capital and Trust Limited write Wills at very affordable rates.
In my opinion, writing a Will is something everyone above the age of 40 years should do. In my years of practice as a provider of legal and support services, I have found clients who attest to the benefits of Will writing, and I generally encourage every responsible person to write their Will.
I am always excited to help people plan their future by talking to them about Wills and estate planning. I answer questions via [email protected].