Put your house in order, write a will

My junior colleague in the office asked for a time off a fortnight ago. His reason was to travel to his state to be able to process his father’s gratuity. His father had died while in active service as a lecturer during a brief illness. But getting the gratuity was not just going to be straight forward, they had to obtain a letter of administration which would give the appointed administrators authority under the law as legal administrators to oversee their deceased father’s estate.

Having some experience in probate matters, I informed him before he left that obtaining the letter of administration is not just at a snap of the fingers, it followed a process but if he was painstaking and patient, the letter would be duly processed so that they can rightfully claim what belonged to their father’s estate.

Probate matters are not things people find comfortable discussing because it brings us close to the uncomfortable reality that to everything there is an end and that nothing goes on forever. What we often do not realise is that the dead leaves baggage for the living to carry and things do not just end when a person dies. But the way the dead arranges his baggage while alive would go a long way to assist those left behind to either carry or dispose of it.

Writing a Will is no longer strange but many do not and continue to push things forward till they never get to do it and therefore the deceased is said to have died intestate, that is without leaving a will. Therefore nothing speaks on his behalf after his death i.e ambulatory.

However, hope is not lost as his family could still apply for a letter of administration from the Probate of a High Court so that the deceased children or heirs can inherit his estate. Many properties including money have been left to waste due to the families not having an information as to how those properties could be effectively shared after the deceased’s demise.

In the case of my colleague, his father practised monogamy before his death and so it made appointing administrators, getting forms filled and all processes easier. Often times, the marriage is often in direct consonance with inheritance and succession. And the concept of Idi-Igi (per stripes)and Ori-Ojori  (per capita) in inheritance and division of property under Yoruba customary law is not strange in our society. The issue of the type of marriage often times if not carefully handled often brings problems after the deceased’s estate especially when he dies without leaving as the extended family will continue to mount undue pressure of the deceased’s immediate family as to how his property should be disposed. Some family members even step in and take over the administration of the estate.

In Law School, we had the opportunity of studying the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi’s Will, a beautiful example of what a Will should be like. it has become a Nigerian locus classicus in the drafting of a Will.

In the words of a Retired Acting Chief Judge of Oyo State, Justice J.O Ige (Rtd)

 ‘A will is a legal document in which a man sets out how his property, personal and real are to be dealt with after his death. It is the final expression of your mind, your will about your belongings. …..granted that no one wants to die, but the reality is that one is bound to die as long as this world exists and no individual, except in bizarre circumstances can predict his death. It is not strange and uncommon however to see many families that have been split and put in disarray as a result of the way and manner beneficiaries are treated and sometimes denied access to their parent’s properties. In Africa and indeed over the world, when a person dies intestate (without a valid Will), the immediate family members especially children and spouse are put under pressure by the extended members of the family who equally feel they deserve some share of the assets of the deceased.”

In essence the learned jurist states that acknowledging that there is a time to die is a fact of life and therefore writing a will is simply putting one’s house in order before one’s demise. And therefore humans should refrain from hiding things especially from their immediate family as we are the ones to eventually tidy things up for one another. My colleague had so far had a smooth process despite his father dying intestate because his father never hid to his children where his valid documents were kept during his lifetime and had given them solid instructions to follow upon his demise.

Families must therefore be unified if they want to have a successful processing of either a Will or a Letter of administration. It is always advised that a Will be lodged at the High Court of a probate registry and reading of same to beneficiaries can be applied for by the solicitor who prepared the will upon  the demise of the testator

Where a person dies intestate, a disunited family makes it impossible appointing administrators and sureties who would appear in person before the Registrar of the Probate for an interview. This preliminary steps if not properly done may delay and stall the whole process.

Be like King Hezekiah. Put your house in order.