29/02/2024
*THE WILL MASTERCLASS*
*QN: My friend who witnessed my will is blind*
ANS: Potea. If they cannot see you signing or acknowledging your signature, they cannot be a valid witness. Seeing here is actual.
*QN: I wrote my will together with my wife and our child signed it for us*
ANS: You know you are not serious! If a beneficiary attests to a will, the beneficiary loses any gift they received in the will. Secondly, because your wife has witnessed the will, she not only loses the gifts under the will but cannot even become an executor. The will is also invalid because it has one witness.
*QN: I wrote my will. My friend witnessed it on Monday. Another friend witnessed it on Tuesday*
ANS: That one is an invalid will. The witnesses must attest at the same time.
*QN: I am not writing a will but I have told everyone how I want my property dealt with*
ANS: When you die, we shall consider you as having died without a will in which case the law will deal with your property as it deems fit and your wishes will not count. A will has to be in writing.
*QN: I decided that I do not like my old will anymore so I wrote on it 'cancelled' or 'revoked.' So now I know I revoked it*
ANS: No way. It is still valid. If you want to revoke a will by destroying it, you have to destroy it by burning, tearing or similar acts that show an intention to destroy the will.
*QN: I went back to my old will and then crossed out some words and added others*
ANS: If the original wording is still apparent, it is valid! If you want to change a will; execute a codicil or a new one and make sure you state that all the old wills are revoked.
*QN: We are a couple and we know our families are difficult people. We want to cater for each other and our children in case we die*
ANS: The two of you should make a mutual will and state that it is irrevocable and shall not be altered.
*QN: I want to leave my illegitimate children out of the will because I do not get along with their mother*
ANS: If you pop them, you are responsible for them.
*QN: Making a will is a bad omen. You will die if you write one*
ANS: I have good news for you. You will still die, with or without a will.
*QN: What if I make a gift to someone in my will and they die before me?*
ANS: Well they are dead! A beneficiary must generally outlive the person who made the will. If they die before you, then the gift returns to your estate. The only exception is where that gift had been made to your child in which case their children MAY take benefit.
*QN: Why are you making noise about wills?*
ANS: Because:
a. You are going to die. Timing is the only thing we are not sure about.
b. When you die, while some of us mourn for you, others will be looking for your hard-earned property to steal.
c. If you left behind a spouse that your family does not like, your spouse is likely to be mistreated and thrown out of that property.
d. Your children whom you love may also be left uncatered for by those greedy family members.
e. The Administrator General will then come and take over the management of the affairs of your estate.
f. In the meantime, your family will be fighting over who to become the executor.
g. To prevent b-f, make a will and decide how you want your affairs to be run. Your property, your business, your say!
