Human is a social animal who does not just come to this earth and leave without any desires. He spends his life amassing wealth and property for a better life for him and his family and when its time to bid adieu to this world, he wants that his family inherits what he has. Law gives an instrument in this regards in the form of a - Will.
A Will is a written document that carries the instructions of the person writing a Will, a testator, on how he wants his estate planning to be. Estate planning involves writing a Will as a testamentary instrument to give away one’s property after he is gone. It is the best way to protect his assets (immovable property, funds) from the clutches of unwanted inheritors, acquisition by government or worse still, dissolution of all his assets per succession laws.
Origin of Will
The history of Will is untraceable among Hindus in India. But there is evidence that followers of Mohammed were in the know-how of stating a Will. Even the western country of significance, Britain, had laws to make and execute Wills. Hindus in India have imbibed this instrument during the reign of both these communities. And given the shape of a regulatory act, the Indian Succession Act 1925, all Indians except Mohammedans can and do make and execute Wills.
The act also regulates intestate deaths, deaths without any Will. In India, intestate deaths are regulated on a case to case basis.
Many faces
A Will can be as long or as short as one wants it to be. The shortest Will in history was written by one Bimla Rishi of Delhi, who just wrote "all to son". It’s not the length of the Will but the clarity of instruction that matters. Further, it should be written on either a plain paper or a legal document, signed and dated by witnesses. But only writing a Will to transfer property is not sufficient; to make it admissible in court, it should be "legally valid". And how does one make it? And why?
The answer to the first question is that there are two ways to make a Will valid: either get it registered by a legal authority or get it signed by at least two witnesses of repute. And the answer to the second question is: If the Will is not valid (unsigned/ undated), then the painstakingly drafted Will is rendered no more than a piece of paper, with "something" written on it! And that is definitely not what the testator would have dreamt of! The death would be considered as an intestate death and dealt with accordingly.
Execution of Will
By the time the stage of execution of Will comes, the testator would have passed away, leaving the responsibility of carrying out the instructions on the shoulders of the "executor". The executor becomes the key person responsible for verifying the assets, evaluating them, informing and coordinating with the concerned authorities and ultimately distributing the assets as per the Will, after the death of the executor. So, it is advisable to choose someone who can be trusted and able to delegate the responsibilities.
A Will is an important instrument like any other transactional document pertaining to transfer of property; a document that is not only an instruction but also quite close to heart as it is a way of respecting the last wishes of someone in the family. So there should be an attempt to avoid chances of litigation in this aspect by drafting it in consultation with qualified legal experts; there is no dearth of sound legal advice providers in India.