This article in how to write a will in Nigeria will also answer the following questions.
Cost of writing a will in Nigeria
SAMPLE draft of a will in Nigeria
Who can make a will in Nigeria
Types of Will in Nigeria
Where is a will domicile in Nigeria
DID YOU KNOW?
THAT THE WORD “NEXT-OF-KIN MEANS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING IN LAW;it carries no legal weight.
Your next of kin is simply the person who could be contacted in case you’re not available.
Your Next- Of- Kin is not the person who stands to inherit the millions in your bank account;
He or she may well be in possession of all your Land documents ; but he or she will never have the power to sell your property;nor will they be allowed to touch 1kobo from your bank account.
Nobody prays to die early,but if you are opportuned to own valuable property or assets,
Please do not hesitate to write a Will
AND PLEASE: DO NOT WRITE IT BY YOURSELF AND FILE IN A DRAWER; call a Lawyer, let him/her write your Will.
The Will would need to be filed in the Probate Registry before it can be acceptable in law.
If you do not write a Will,your relatives would have to pay a lawyer to apply for Letters of Administration, when you are no more;
They would need to advertise in a newspaper,
Apply to a Judge to grant the order,and pay a big chunk of the value of your assets to the State Government before they can have access to your bank accounts or your property.
Sometimes when people consider the stress involved in obtaining Letters of Administration,they just abandon all the money and it becomes the property of the bank.
Types of will in Nigeria
STATUTORY WILLS
NUNCUPATIVE (ORAL) WILLS
JOINT WILLS
MUTUAL WILLS
WRITTEN CUSTOMARY WILLS
PRENUPTIAL WILLS
HOLOGRAPH WILLS
CONDITIONAL WILLS
PRIVILEGED WILLS
Who can make a will in Nigeria?
Every person that is mentally fit and with a sound mind can make a Will. Section 3 of the Wills Act, 1837 provides thus –
“It shall be lawful for every person to devise, bequeath, all properties or dispose of, by his Will executed in manner hereinafter required, all real estate and all personal estate which he shall be entitled to, either at law or in equity, at the time of his death, and which, if not so devised, bequeathed or disposed of, would devolve upon the heir at law…”.
Thus, persons of requisite statutory age, with a sound disposing mind and memory can make a Will notwithstanding his tribe, religion, or physical status. A blind person or a deaf person can also write a will.
SAMPLE draft of a will in Nigeria
Here is a sample of how a will look like if you want to write one.
This article was written by Uloma Loomzy Emenyonu Okoro .
