When it comes to drawing up a will, people often put it off for months, and sometimes years, thinking it can wait. Well, it’s important for everyone to have an estate plan in place.
In the absence of a will, your assets and properties will be divided equally among your legal heirs. If you wish to allocate your assets differently, you must create a will.
Additional Reading: What’s A Digital Will?
A will involves various legal technicalities, terms and conditions, which many find ambiguous. If you wish to create a will, here are 10 things you need to keep in mind:
- Your will need not be drafted on a legal paper
People often assume that a stamp paper is required to draft a will. This couldn’t be further from the truth. You can create a will on a plain sheet of paper and it would still be considered valid.
- Registration of the will is not important
While registration is recommended, it is not important. Your will would still be considered valid even without registration.
A registered will, however, has certain benefits. You can create a ‘legal evidence’ of the will through registration. So, in case you lose your original will, or it is tampered with, you can get a copy of your will through the registry office.
- Eligibility for making a will
You are eligible to make a will once you are 21 years old. A will should be not be created under coercion, influence, or duress. Typically, two witnesses are required to enter their names and addresses as well as the date of the will when it is being made. Moreover, the witnesses and their spouses should not be beneficiaries of the will.
- Important terms associated with a will
There are some common legal and technical terms associated with a will which you must be aware of before making one.
- Testator – a male individual who is making his will
- Testatrix – a female individual who is making her will
- Beneficiary – Someone who benefits from the will
- Executor – Someone who carries out the wishes mentioned in the will. He or she can be a solicitor or any other person trusted by the testator/testatrix.
- Probate – It is a certificate from a court of law which validates the will. Only after a probate is obtained can a will be executed.
- Types of wills
Broadly speaking, there are two types of wills:
- Privilege wills – Wills made by soldiers, navy men, sailors, or airmen who are engaged in war or an expedition, are called privilege wills. These wills, if written by the testator/testatrix themselves, do not require any attestation or witnesses.
- Unprivileged will – Wills made by anyone else are called unprivileged wills.
Conditional wills, concurrent wills, mutual wills, and joint wills are some of the other types of wills.
- Assets that can be willed
What can and cannot be willed is governed by complex laws of inheritance and religion. While a Hindu man can make a will for properties and assets created and owned by him, he cannot will the assets he has inherited as per his choice. A Hindu woman, on the other hand, can make a will for any property she has created or inherited.
Muslims can pass on one-third of their assets through a will, while the remaining two-thirds are inherited as per religious law. However, if the legal heirs give consent, a Muslim can bestow all his assets.
- Format of a will
There is no particular format of a will mandated by law. It should, however, be clear and precise and contain the phrase – ‘Last Will and Testament Of _____ (your name)’.
- Revising a will
A will is not absolute and can be revised and changed whenever you want. For minor changes, you can create a supplementary statement, which is called a codicil. For major changes, a new will is recommended to prevent ambiguity.
- Appointing a guardian
If you pass on assets and properties to minors, you should appoint a guardian in order to maintain the assets until the minors attain maturity.
- The beneficiaries of a will
You can name your relatives, family, friends and even trusts or institutions as beneficiaries to your will. Bequeathing your property only among immediate and near family is not mandatory.
Creating a will is simple. However, you must keep track of the tax laws. In case there are any changes, your will might be in need of revision.
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