What are the risks of not creating a will?

How many of us actually ponder about this serious issue that when an untoward incident occurs, what will happen to all our assets? Most of us are distressed thinking about such situations and may not be well informed or prepared for the same. Here comes the important role of creating a will for all your assets.

Without a will one has no control over what happens to the property or assets in case of an untoward incident. As an alternative, the law will decide who will administer your estate and who will benefit in a strict order of priority, regardless of any intentions you may have had. It is very important that a person who owns a property should make a will wisely in case if he/she dies the property can go to the person in need.

What is a will?

A will or a testimony is a lawful announcement by which a person or the testator titles one or more people to manage his estate and provides for the transfer of his property after his death. In case the property is transferred without a will, there comes the aspect of inheritance and intestacy.

What is the importance of a will?

Having a will is the first important step towards your financial life when there is a diverse family structure and you would like to share your wealth among all the members. In such situations if the owner of the property dies without signing a will, the wealth will not be distributed evenly among members. The wealth will be distributed as per ‘Laws of succession’ (Government rules, on how wealth should be divided among family members). Most of the property owners are in a misconception that all their wealth will be safely handed to their loved ones, but the truth is that the laws of inheritance and succession are quite complicated and are diverse in nature in different cases of Hindus and Muslims.

Another point you should consider is the inconvenience caused to your family members because of your laziness by not making a will for them. In case of a dispute, your family members have to produce the proof about their relationship with and also have to go helter-skelter to lawyers and spent money and energy. Much better then, to gift them some time of yours, and creating a will! This will save them a lot of headache.

How is a will created?

In order to have a complete will, there are various parts which should be filled in duly. A will has a template rather than a legal format which has been used for quite some time. Following are the steps through which a will is created:

Declaration in the introduction:

The first paragraph of the will consists of the declaration that the will is being produced in complete sane condition without any form of pressure. The complete address, age, name and other important details should be mentioned.

The details of the property and the documents:

The second paragraph contains a list of all the items and the current values like the land, house, mutual funds, postal investments, bank fixed deposits and other documents. Also the place where the documents are placed should be mentioned which should be the bank safe deposit. The details like the releasing and procedure of the will can be taken from the bank manager after the death of the person. One should ensure that they have communicated all of the above details to the executor of the will.

The details of the ownership:

Along with other details, the will also contains the details about who will own all the assets and in what proportion after the death. If the assets will be handed over to a minor, it is important that one appoints a custodian of the assets until the chosen individual reaches his adult age. Ensure that the custodian is a trustworthy person.

Signing the will:

This is the important and the last step which completes a will. Before signing a will, one has to be really careful and should sign it only in the presence of two independent witnesses who will again sign alongside stating that they were the witnesses for the will. Details like the date and place will be mentioned. All the pages of the will should be signed and the will should be placed in an envelope which will be sealed later. The seal will however, bear the signature of the owner and the date of the sealing.

Can the will be executed?

After the death of the owner, an executor from the court will be responsible for the division of the wealth among all the beneficiaries. The entire process will be carried out smoothly and a judicial magistrate can also be appointed if needed.

Can the will be changed?

The will can be changed any time and each time a will is changed, it is important to mention the recent updates after each change. However, if the recent wills are not mentioned, it can cause major confusion and matters can go to the court.

Following are the backlogs of not creating a will:

Inheritance:

This is the method of passing on the property, titles, debts, rights and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance of property differ in each society and religion.

Intestacy:

This is a condition of the property of a person who dies owning the property greater than the sum of his/her enforceable debts and funeral expenses without having made a valid will or other binding declaration. However, this also applies even in case of a will which has been made only to certain parts of an estate excluding the remaining estates.

Uncertainty of who inherits the property:

Since there is an absence of a will by the deceased, the property possession will be decided by the laws of Intestacy. The law of intestacy undertakes a family structure that does not apply with the modern family structure or the specific needs of a person. In case one among the couple (intestate) dies, the other partner is liable to get the property. Further, intestacy also can cause problems for couples or individuals with greater wealth as there will be uncertainty of who gets all the property. This can be solved by creating a will.