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| Should everyone have a WILL ? | Views: 679 |
| Aug 26, 2007 8:52 am | | Should everyone have a WILL ? | # |
S Z | | There is an old saying "nothing is sure in life except death and taxes". Someday everyone will have to die. How it is going to effect the people in your family. A well drafted WILL ensures no conflicts between your next of kin or chosen beneficiaries.
Consider a example of a person who had a massive stroke, doctors have declared him brain dead and he is being kept alive on life support machines. Suppose he had previously told someone like his spouse that he did not want to be kept alive by extreme measures. However, another family member can not take the thought of him dying. Both family members love him & both want to do what is best however they disagree and end up causing great emotional distress to each other.
A will is an easier way of ensuring that your wishes are carried out in the event that something untoward happens.
I would request the legal experts in this forum to provide detailed information on how a will has to be prepared as per Indian legal framework :
- Whether a self drafted will on plain paper is good enough ?
- Or should a lawyer be consulted for the same ?
- Is it necessary to be prepared on stamp paper and registered/attested by any authority ?
- To whom/where should it be given / kept ?
- What precise points should be included to ensure clear understanding of how property is to be divided.
With regards,
S. Zaheer
http://www.easytech.in
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Private Reply to S Z |
| Aug 30, 2007 4:23 am | | re: Should everyone have a WILL ? | # |
Rajesh R | | ummm.. anyone out there who can throw light on this?
( an interested bystander)Private Reply to Rajesh R |
| Aug 31, 2007 8:05 am | | re: re: Should everyone have a WILL ? | # |
Rajesh R | | I dunno abt a 'will' but what i'm seeing here is a mass 'won't' :D:D Private Reply to Rajesh R |
| Sep 15, 2007 1:51 am | | Should everyone have a WILL ? | # |
SOEB FATEHI | | Contact Advocate S.S.Pai, Founder Chairman of "Make a Will Foundation" - he resides at Mumbai . . . .
He has dedicated his life to educating people about the how and why of making wills through his NGO . . . .
Private Reply to SOEB FATEHI |
| Sep 15, 2007 2:20 am | | re: Should everyone have a WILL ? | # |
SOEB FATEHI | | and over many years, from what i have learned from S.S.Pai and other very senior and eminent solicitors . . . .
- Whether a self drafted will on plain paper is good enough ?
YES it is legally valid.
- Or should a lawyer be consulted for the same ?
Notwithstanding that "a self drafted will on plain paper is good enough" it is advisable to consult and engage a specialist lawyer for drafting the will. Ignorance of what is not permissible in a will and inability to foresee misinterpretation can lead to complication and loss of willed inheritance for designated beneficiaries.
- Is it necessary to be prepared on stamp paper and registered/attested by any authority ?
NO.
It is advisable and strongly recommended that the will is prepared on stamp paper and registered. Any attestation though good is not as good as registration. An attestation is tantamount to being witnessed and has no legal strength beyond that.
- To whom/where should it be given / kept ?
The best place to deposit the will is with the named executor. It may or may not be revealed to the beneficiaries in advance. It is the moral responsibility of the executor to give effect the will. The legal binding on the executor is limited and he is permitted to step down from his responsibility unless he has accepted consideration in advance for the performance of his duty. In such a case the hassle of booking him for specific performance is lengthy and unsure. An institution (a trust or a chamber of commerce) can be appointed to designate a reputed person to act as an executor. This makes it incumbent for the person making the will to make every conceivable effort to be right in his choice of the executor.
- What precise points should be included to ensure clear understanding of how property is to be divided.
The proportion (ratio) of sharing or division of blocks and the clear identification of the beneficiaries is the necessary component of the will. Clear identification means unique identification of person or group or organization. For persons be sure to cite parentage, date and place of birth, valid passport number as on date of will in addition to relationship (not necessarily by blood) with the person making the will. Indian Law still does not provide for biometric verification of identity though biometrics support by way of proof may be acceptable. For groups the legal status of the group as an entity and personal individual identification of principal officers is desirable to be included. If the group does not have a registered status then it is regarded as an unregistered association of persons and is identified by individual identities of each of the members. Any registered is identified by the memorandum/articles of association along with registration number and charter of existence in addition to individual identification of principal officers holding constitutional office at the time of making the will.
further elaboration can be done by a specialist solicitor engaged professionally for the purpose.
{disclaimer - posted from general knowledge without any legal liability as a matter of discussion only.}Private Reply to SOEB FATEHI |
| Sep 15, 2007 3:36 am | | re: re: Should everyone have a WILL ? | # |
SOEB FATEHI | |
- quote -
"Consider a example of a person who had a massive stroke, doctors have declared him brain dead and he is being kept alive on life support machines. Suppose he had previously told someone like his spouse that he did not want to be kept alive by extreme measures. However, another family member can not take the thought of him dying. Both family members love him & both want to do what is best however they disagree and end up causing great emotional distress to each other."
- unquote -
This situation described by you is real however it can not be resolved by a WILL. A will can and does come into execution only after a person is pronounced legally dead.
I do not know if there is any other means of instructing in advance what you desire to be done when you are in a state of coma or clinically incapacitated to communicate your thoughts if any.
Private Reply to SOEB FATEHI |
| Mar 31, 2008 12:48 am | | re: Should everyone have a WILL ? | # |
S Z | | Got the following information posted by Jayant Tiwari in another thread :
The Will must be in writing to avoid confusion and should preferably be Registered.
A Registered Will can be countermanded by another Written Will which is dated and witnessed after the Registered Will.
The Will applied in case of Death is the Last chronological Will, in writing, duly witnessed with affadavits in support by the witnesses, available with any of the inheritors.
There are also specific grounds under which an Unregistered Will can be contested, i.e. Mental imbalance of the deceased (medical evidence to be provided), Undue Influence exercised by the primary beneficiary (mere residence is insufficient, corroborative evidence must be provided) etc.
A Registered Will cannot be contested on any grounds whatsoever and can only be countermanded by a later written will.
In case the later Written Will is contested and overturned, the earlier Uncontested Written Will or earlier Registered Will shall be deemed to apply.
Can somebody elaborate on registration of will. Does it mean a will typed on 10Re stamp paper and attested by Notory Public ?
S ZPrivate Reply to S Z |
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