Will- A legal statement written by an individual

A 'Will' can be defined as 'a legal statement written by an individual, stating the manner in which his or her wealth may be distributed after his or her demise'. A person making a Will is known as a testator. It is best that one consults an advocate before preparing a Will. It would be better if the advocate is a person you have utmost confidence in.

Here are some guidelines to prepare a Will:

A Will should be simple, precise and clear. Otherwise there may be problems for the legal heirs. Sometimes relatives and others may try to distort the interpretation of the Will for their own benefit.

It is always better to take the advice of a trusted advocate. A Will must always be dated. If more than one Will is made then the one having the latest date will nullify all other Wills. In fact, it would be better to make a statement nullifying all other Wills or even better destroying any previously made will. There should only be one Will.

It is better to make a Will at a younger age. As and when events or incidents in the family necessitate changes, the Will can be changed. One of the advantages of making a Will at an early age is that unscrupulous relatives may contest the legality of the Will made by a very old person on the condition that the person was not of sound mind when the Will was made.

A Will can be hand-written or typed out. No stamp paper is necessary.
 
There should be an executor of the Will who would be entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring that the assets are distributed according to the provisions of the Will. Sometimes more than one executor may be required to execute the Will. The testator should take prior consent of the person whom he or she wishes to name as the executor.

A Will should be signed by the testator in the presence of at least two witnesses who have to attest the same. The full names and addresses of the witnesses should be clearly indicated in the Will. It would be better if one of the witnesses is a medical practitioner, but this is not essential. The practitioner should certify that the testator is of sound mind (especially if the testator is of an advanced age) and he or she should also note his or her registration number and degree (educational qualification). A witness should not be a beneficiary of the Will. A witness should also not be an executor of the Will.

Each page of the Will should be serially numbered and signed by the testator and the witnesses. This is to prevent substitution, replacement or insertion of a page or pages by persons with fraudulent intentions. At the end of the Will the testator can indicate the total number of pages in the Will. Corrections, if any, should be countersigned.

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