The discussion about death is one which everyone abhors, especially their own. But if you don't make plans on how you want to distribute your worldly wealth while you're still alive, you can leave a host of problems and hardships for your grieving family to sort out.

Take the billionaire aviator turned recluse, Howard Hughes. It took 15 years of legal wrangling before his fortune was handed out among surviving family members because he hadn't bothered to make a will.

Maybe he, like many other people, felt daunted or even afraid by the process - or was it the cost?

But in reality, the business of making a will can be quite straightforward and it won't cost the earth provided you are aware of the major pitfalls.

Here are our top ten tips on how to end up with the perfect will.

1. Choose who draws up your will wisely
You can make your own will but this process is full of pitfalls and errors are easy to make. Lawyers make a lot more money sorting out badly drafted wills and dealing with claims against those wills, than they make for drawing up wills. It’s always advisable to employ the services of a reputable lawyer.

2. Choose your executors well
Executors are responsible for exercising your estate in accordance with your instructions after you have died. It is a responsible and demanding role, and involves handling large sums of money. And don't forget to check that the people you choose are happy to take on the role.

3. Appoint a default or substitute executor
If you are married, you will probably want your spouse to be your executor, but don't appoint them as your sole executor. If you both died together in a plane crash or a car accident, neither of you would have an executor living. Always appoint a default or substitute executor as a fall-back position in case your spouse is unwilling or unable to act.

4. Appoint guardians
If you are the last living parent and you die leaving children under age 18, a guardian will be appointed by the court if you have not specified who this should be in your will. If you are unmarried but you and your partner have children, you might not even get guardianship of your children. If an unmarried man dies, his female partner automatically gets guardianship of their children, but if an unmarried woman dies, her male partner does not. You should appoint each other as guardians in your wills to overcome this problem.

5. Appoint trustworthy trustees
This might sound obvious, but if you are setting up a trust in your will or if your beneficiaries could be aged under 18 when you die, you will need to appoint trustees. Trustees will be responsible for managing and investing money, or looking after property until it passes to the beneficiaries, so make sure they are people with a good grasp of financial matters - and that they are still young enough so they don't die before you do.

6. Make specific legacies
If you want to preserve family heirlooms or items of special sentimental value, (for example, a grandfather clock, or a wedding or engagement ring), you should leave these items as a specific legacy to a named beneficiary.

7. Make sure you leave a residual legacy
The 'residue' is what is left over in your estate after you have made any specific legacies. You must specify who this goes to, as if you fail to do so, you will create a partial intestacy in your will. In other words, the small gifts and legacies would pass according to the will, but the residue would be subject to the laws of intestacy.

8. Save tax with a trust
Inheritance tax is becoming a burden for many families, particularly where the value of a property pushes the value of an estate above the nil rate band for inheritance tax. If you are married, you can include a discretionary trust in your wills, which could save your children millions of naira in inheritance tax at current rates.

9. Sign your will
It's all very well having your will drafted, but if you don't sign it in front of two independent witnesses, it will not be valid. A witness cannot be anyone mentioned in the will or anyone married to anyone mentioned in the will.

10. Get it stored safely
Once your will has been correctly signed and witnessed, have it stored in a proper safe storage facility. This will protect it from fire, flood, damage, or loss. Your executors will be provided with a certificate showing them where your will is stored and how to get hold of it if you die. Whatever you do – don't hide your will. Your will is no good to anyone if it cannot be found after your death.

Source

Since 20 years ago!

When i neva start life whish kain yeye will i wan write

Food for thought...

Kanwulia: Since 20 years ago!

That's commendable ma.'

shizzle11: When i neva start life whish kain yeye will i wan write

It's never too early. You can start from your phone, clothing, shoes, books.

bizngr: That's commendable ma.'
It's never too early. You can start from your phone, clothing, shoes, books.

lol...in this part of the world, will writing isn't common. I'll start doing so when necessary, thanks

No I haven't.

I never do am, but any body way wish make I die young,

No,I don't really have much to distribute yet

No I haven't
[img]http://www.?aff=391[/img]

I dont need tooo... Cuz i'm only having 2 kids and i'd rather teach them how to fish than giving them basket full of dead fish than won't last them a day.

not yet

Noo


I am still writing my wants..

I no plan to die soon. Not even in my radar, death for now is impossible.

nada

This is no joke, it's very important for you to write your will, I'm a victim and I know what it means. Today I'm hustling not because I'm supposed to but because my father had no will and I was only 8 when he died and my mum is not from my father's tribe, so my father's brothers took all his properties. And believe me it have not been easy.

Muhahaha,am still young bro,moreover I don't have any property yet

Ain't no need writing a will, the time is short, everything natural goes back to the dust

d worst mistake my dad did was that, he didn't write a will b4 he died. Now I'm living with a friend in her school, all his properties have been shared by his elder brothers. hmmmmmm

Everyone should hustle and make his or her own money oo..


Cos if I vex I might write my will and donate every dime to the chibok girls in sambisa forest

Writing a will when you are not MADE yet = OYO.

BTW, writing one isn't as important as teaching your children financial success lessons about acquisition, and management of financial wealth at a very tender age. When you do all of these you won't even have to bother writing a will, because your kids are already self-made before death comes knocking at your door. Whatever you leave behind goes to the charity or a secondary source of wealth to your kids, with or without which they will live in opulence for life.

D legal term that has to do with will is Executorship and trusteeship law.am actually doing it this semester so i understand wat d op is saying
BTw,am nt a law student o.accountancy has killed me with law.from year1 to year3.i stil cant find d link btw law nd accountancy.
@OP,am a student.i dnt have a will bcus if i have one now,it will be totally revoked after marriage.
I know someone will quote me nd say 'WHO ASKED U ALL THIS,SHOWOFF'

I still dey 5 of 100...

Na wa ooo.. Wetin i own sef to even think of writing will oo

Still thinking...

Maybe my second hand fone sha..

Baba God remember me o

hannne: D legal term that has to do with will is Executorship and trusteeship law.am actually doing it this semester so i understand wat d op is saying
BTw,am nt a law student o.accountancy has killed me with law.from year1 to year3.i stil cant find d link btw law nd accountancy.
@OP,am a student.i dnt have a will bcus if i have one now,it will be totally revoked after marriage.
I know someone will quote me nd say 'WHO ASKED U ALL THIS,SHOWOFF'

YES I did!!!!!!!....

Have u plan to die

Okay make I start to read the stuffs

Writing will doesn't mean you are going to die soon.
You may write your will and still live for 50 years.
I plan to write mine soon.

I'm just a student o..if I'm gonna write my will its gonna be like this....
1..my laptop ba3(okoro)
2.my laptop(nkechi)
3.my phone(Amado)
4.my memory card(goodwill)
5.my 20k in bank(uncle n aunt)
6.my bag(Emma)
7.my keyboard(my friend Kali)
8.my room(anyone)
......####.finish.##

Wetin I don get 4 mi to start writing my will now?