₦airaland Forum

Imagine if Chief Iwuanyanwu died without a will...

The whole country is talking about the conditions in Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu’s will.But imagine this:

What if he never made a will at all?

Let’s face it, many Nigerians fear writing a will. Some believe it’s a bad omen.
Others keep postponing it for “when the time is right.” But death doesn’t send a memo.

That’s why many people die intestate, without a will.And when that happens, you no longer have a say.The law, and sometimes family chaos, takes over.

So, what would have happened if Chief Iwuanyanwu died intestate?

It depends on the kind of marriage he had:

If he contracted a customary marriage, then his estate would be distributed according to custom, and we all know customs can vary and cause serious family drama.

If he contracted a statutory marriage then the Administration of Estates of the deceased Law of the state applies.

And here’s what that law says in most states:

The wife gets 1/3 of the estate
The children share 2/3
No room for personal wishes
No gifts to charity, friends, staff, or causes you loved. No specific property direction, like “give this house to my daughter” or “support this foundation”

But with a will? You become the boss, even in death.You decide who gets what.You protect vulnerable loved ones.
You avoid family conflict.You leave a legacy, not confusion.

But here’s a legal twist most people don’t know: do you really have unlimited freedom to give your property to anyone you like in your will? Can you completely disinherit a spouse or child or a dependent?

Watch out for my next post, I’ll be unpacking the legal limits to testamentary freedom in Nigeria. You don’t want to miss it.

So let me ask: is it worth it for a married person to make a will?Drop your answer in the comments. Let's talk.

I’m Ebelechukwu Aroh-Nwoka, your family and property lawyer.I help Nigerians plan wisely, avoid inheritance drama, and protect what truly matters- your family and property.

I think am impressed by the decision of getting a will before he died. This will be peace among the families however, I was worried about the condition he gave to the wife… but I feel he loves the woman so much… he won’t wish another man have access to what he enjoyed.

I personally have no issues with the conditions. Most young men consider these young widows as cash cows. They use the marriage card to lure their victims and thereafter quickly move forward after recking irreparable loss. Most people often guard against such by placing such conditions.

LawWithEbele:
If he contracted a customary marriage, then his estate would be distributed according to custom, and we all know customs can vary and cause serious family drama.

If he contracted a statutory marriage then the Administration of Estates of the deceased Law of the state applies.

And here’s what that law says in most states:

The wife gets 1/3 of the estate
The children share 2/3.

If there was no children in the marriage nor the man having any child outside the marriage, what happens to the 2/3?

There's no wealthy man who doesn't have a will now. The world has advanced beyond wealthy people dying intestate.

The woman go don find one small fine bobo carry all the property give.


Who knows if the man before his death perceive that his wife is not really faithful, probably that's he did what he did

Funny will.

She will just pick a bestie. Okpari

That will live wahala

For the family and town

For we
Waiting concern us

The dead can't be dictating to the living how to live their lives

LawWithEbele:
Imagine if Chief Iwuanyanwu died without a will...

The whole country is talking about the conditions in Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu’s will.But imagine this:

What if he never made a will at all?

Let’s face it, many Nigerians fear writing a will. Some believe it’s a bad omen.
Others keep postponing it for “when the time is right.” But death doesn’t send a memo.

That’s why many people die intestate, without a will.And when that happens, you no longer have a say.The law, and sometimes family chaos, takes over.

So, what would have happened if Chief Iwuanyanwu died intestate?

It depends on the kind of marriage he had:

If he contracted a customary marriage, then his estate would be distributed according to custom, and we all know customs can vary and cause serious family drama.

If he contracted a statutory marriage then the Administration of Estates of the deceased Law of the state applies.

And here’s what that law says in most states:

The wife gets 1/3 of the estate
The children share 2/3
No room for personal wishes
No gifts to charity, friends, staff, or causes you loved. No specific property direction, like “give this house to my daughter” or “support this foundation”

But with a will? You become the boss, even in death.You decide who gets what.You protect vulnerable loved ones.
You avoid family conflict.You leave a legacy, not confusion.

But here’s a legal twist most people don’t know: do you really have unlimited freedom to give your property to anyone you like in your will? Can you completely disinherit a spouse or child or a dependent?

Watch out for my next post, I’ll be unpacking the legal limits to testamentary freedom in Nigeria. You don’t want to miss it.

So let me ask: is it worth it for a married person to make a will?Drop your answer in the comments. Let's talk.

I’m Ebelechukwu Aroh-Nwoka, your family and property lawyer.I help Nigerians plan wisely, avoid inheritance drama, and protect what truly matters- your family and property.

A wise/wealthy man plans his burial in advance
The welfare of his children/loved ones in advance
How his wealth would be distributed.

On Facebook, most of the women there commented saying they wont remarry but would be collecting different dickss and enjoy their lives while enjoying their late husband's property

Mohbad was too young to have a will, or so he thought.............................

You people should allow the late elder state man to rest in peace.

His family's privacy should be observed





All these Lagos-Ibadan express media sef

LawWithEbele:
I personally have no issues with the conditions. Most young men consider these young widows as cash cows. They use the marriage card to lure their victims and thereafter quickly move forward after recking irreparable loss. Most people often guard against such by placing such conditions.

lol. you think woman get time for will? she go spend money as she want

Goo0dHardDick:
On Facebook, most of the women there commented saying they wont remarry but would be collecting different dickss and enjoy their lives while enjoying their late husband's property

na so!

Mindlog:
If there was no children in the marriage nor the man having any child outside the marriage, what happens to the 2/3?

The wife takes everything except stated otherwise that it should be given to the orphanage

bolaayenimo:
The dead can't be dictating to the living how to live their lives

The living can decide to walk away..its not a must for the living to chop wat the dead has left behind.

seunny4lif:
Those wealthy men knew very well that their wives married them simply because of their wealth and no rich man without will

not all of them, some are still money-miss-road

I know two powerful men who both wrote their wills but becauseof too many children and women, they are still struggling to share his properties till date.

If there was no will,it could have resulted to infighting and betrayals among siblings.

A serious one at that.

It is well in Jesus name. Amen.

Its okay he left a will.

Having a will in this season will stop inheritance drama. It gives the man to control to choose whomever that will have a place to get what he worked for m

Well, my own be say na person write the will, na him sign am and na Lawyer and the courts go do as according yo the will. But no be Nigeria we dey again ni? Some things would definitely happen. The Lawyer fit call the wife asidento ask for part of the inheritance as bribe and dem do abracadabra. Also, the family sef fit counter the will because of maybe greed of the inheritance and dem go cover for her to go remarry. Na Nigeria we dey o wey everything can happen.

Will or no will
The woman will still enjoy herself

LawWithEbele:
I personally have no issues with the conditions. Most young men consider these young widows as cash cows. They use the marriage card to lure their victims and thereafter quickly move forward after recking irreparable loss. Most people often guard against such by placing such conditions.

where can I contact you, I need a legal advice from you concerning something a kind of related to this topic

Iwanyanwu was a wiseman. How one lazy pig go come dey enjoy my wealth bequeathed to my wife, dey form big boy, driving my suvz?

SmartPolician:
There's no wealthy man who doesn't have a will now. The world has advanced beyond wealthy people dying intestate.

You’d be surprised to hear that there are! People often don’t have their affairs planned out for many reasons. Some people start their wills and die before they get a chance to sign/ finalise things .
Some don’t update existing wills and may leave out one “surprise” child for example too. Or don’t add an additional property or unintentionally leave out some clauses for eg if the deceased receives a lump sum shortly before he dies etc

I have mixed feelings about this clause chief iwuanyawu put in his will. On the one hand I get he’s trying to protect his assets on the other hand how does he expect her not to move on afterwards. She’s only middle aged for goodness sakes!

bsalawu:
I think am impressed by the decision of getting a will before he died. This will be peace among the families however, I was worried about the condition he gave to the wife… but I feel he loves the woman so much… he won’t wish another man have access to what he enjoyed.

The condition is that she shall not marry another or she loses the inheritance. It does not in anyway bar her from having a relationship or even bearing children by another. It simply requires her not to marry another to keep the inheritance.

See the condition he attached to what he willed to his wife . Even after dying him no wan another man to follow chop wetin him no fit chop finish. Very wicked and selfish man.

bsalawu:
I think am impressed by the decision of getting a will before he died. This will be peace among the families however, I was worried about the condition he gave to the wife… but I feel he loves the woman so much… he won’t wish another man have access to what he enjoyed.

I don't think it's about another man enjoying his wife. Rather it's intended to keep his wealth within the family.
If the wife inherited his wealth & later remarried, the wealth will automatically be lost to Iwuanyanwu's family & possibly become transferred to the new husband.