Today, we shall be discussing the most important but ‘uncomfortable’ topic
When most people hear about will, their mind goes straight to death, which is not the main reason for writing a will
I call it uncomfortable because many don’t like hearing the statement ‘write your will’
There’s no doubt that will takes effect after the death of the deceased, but then, one writing his will doesn’t mean he’s dying soon
No wonder, it is defined as a testamentary document deposed to by the testator in his lifetime explaining how his estate should be distributed after his death
It is very important for one who has attained the age of 18 in some states while 21 in some other states, depending on the law that’s governing each state, to write a will
Will can be kept with the executor, bank or the testator himself
There are three parties to a will, they are, the Testator (person writing the will), the Beneficiary and the Executor: There are reasons why one must write a will during his lifetime and these include:
1. It allows the Testator to plan how his estate should be shared after his death
2. It allows him to appoint those who will be in charge of the distribution of his estate
3. It prevents unnecessary quarel among the family members on who gets what from the estate of the Testator
4. It prevents problem of probate in case he died intestate (without a will) etc
Testator must be willing to give the beneficiary his estate without being forced to do so, if a beneficiary mounts pressure on the Testator to prepare his will for him to get his share or else, he would die, such a will can be contested in court, and it will be invalid
Will only takes effect after the death of the Testator. Any estate given to someone before the death of the Testator is just a gift and not a will
From the audience Mr Deji Jackson asked: Who, in your opinion, is best to be an executor ?
Answer: An executor must be a person of integrity
He must not be a minor
Must be younger than the Testator
To a question that Must the witnesses be a family members?
Answer: Witnesses can be a family member or outsider. So, it MUST not be only family members. Testator can appoint anyone but such person must not be older than the testator
Any beneficiary that contributes to the death of a Testator will not benefit from the estate of the Testator, hence the latin maxim, ex turpi causa non oritur action ( you can not benefit from your wrong)
Yes, the Testator has every right to will his estate to anyone he likes, that’s why the law says that the intention of the Testator must be respected
If a testator gives a substantial part of his properties to a woman he’s not legally married to than to a woman that he’s legality married to ,after his death could there be any legal collision in a court of law,I mean,is that will valid under the law
One person from the audience said “This part should be distributed to all children for them to know they wonāt get shishi if they contribute to papa or mamaās death. šššš
I love this part, jare!”
One of audience asked Yemi “What if there is a mark on beneficiary eligibility Questions might arise regarding the eligibility of certain beneficiaries, such as those with criminal records, maybe in life imprisonment, or addiction issues.
What can be done in this case legally?”
Answer: Will is not like some other legal matters that restrain ex convicts or recedivist from benefitting from certain things. A Testator may decide to will his estate to the prisoners so far the prisoner is not traced to the death of the testator
Question: What of the beneficiary has issues like mental issue what happens to his/her part?
Answer: Where the beneficiary is insaned, in as much as he doesn’t predecease the testator, at his lucid interval, he can still get his part of the estate. But where he completely insane and couldn’t get back to his lucid interval, such estate goes back to what we call residuary legacy. Residuary legacy is a legacy where estates that are rejected or couldn’t get to the beneficiary or suffered abatement or the ones discovered after the death of the Testator are kept. Such estates will be decided by the probate registry on how it would be shared. It is otherwise refered to as partial intestate
Someone who recognised herself as Funmilayo asked if Women can do will for their children as well
Answer: Anyone except a minor can write a will.
Prince Jimoh Ajasa: My legal adviser, assuming if the will owner Lawyer failed to register the will at the probate before he or she Died. What happens to the will
Answer:The most important in a will is for the Testator to put it in writing, sign it and attest to it in the presence of at least two witnesses. It is when the deceased dies intestate that there will be issues of going to the probate registry. It means the deceased died intestate and that’s why it is bad not to write a will
Question: In a case the testator has huge debt to settle and no provision for the payment in the will, how could such debt be settle ?
Answer: Nemo dat quod non habet (you can not give what you don’t have). If the Testator has, for example, mortgaged his buildings before his death and he wills such building to a beneficiary, such will can not hold, it will go to the mortgagee except if he has made provisions for the repayment of the loan in his will.
Question: Please Barrister am confused about this two phrase
Police is your friend
Bail is free
Answer: Yes, when they say police is your friend, I believe they are correct because, despite the fact that we have bad eggs among them, even those bad eggs still risk their lives to protect us by staying on the main road to look for criminals to arrest, leave their family members and face gunshots which someone like me can not do. But in most cases, they misbehave. We can’t but to appreciate them and also report their irregularities to the appropriate quatres.
Bail is free truly, but it depends on the side you belongš
Let me explain this. Let’s assume you have someone who was arrested alongside some hoodlums while he was on an assignment, having got to the station, after investigation, he was found to be innocent, then you can insist that bail is free and drag it to any length if you have the mind.
But where you were arrested with drug, and you know that if you get to court and you are found guilty, you will be sentenced to a certain number of jail term, it is better to follow what the bible says što settle with the police and get yourself out of the mess to avoid being jailed and later bear the title ‘ex convict’
Please, whenever I use ‘he’ am referring to both gender, not only the men. Pardon me please
From an interactive Session with Barrister Yemi Enitan
