How to make a Legally Valid Will
Making the will during your life time is one of the most important aspects of everybody's life. The hard work done by you for the entire life can get washed away in a moment if you happen to die without making a will as to who will be your successor. There are many examples when the property of the persons is taken over by the government due to non availability of a clear, legally valid and the successors suffers lot to settle the claims in their favor. In the absence of a legally valid WILL your legal heirs needs to complete lot of legal formalities to transfer assets in their name. Hence, making a will well in time in your life is as important as living a healthy life
The will can be made at any age after 21 years in India. The procedure of making the will that is legally valid is very simple in India as compared with many other countries of the world. You can make the will on plain paper in India. It is not necessary to make the will on judicial or non judicial stamp paper in India. You can get the will typed on a plain paper. However, it is advisable to write your will in your own hand writing as the same can be verified later in case of any doubts raised by the relatives.
You have to declare in the first paragraph of the will that you are making this will in your full senses and without any kind of pressure. It is essential to list out all your assets in the will, item by item, which you own.
The approximate current values of the house, land, or any other property should be clearly mentioned in the will. After listing out of all the assets like bank fixed deposits, postal investments, mutual funds, share certificates owned by you, you must indicate where all such documents are stored by you. Mostly, such critical documents are to be preserved in the bank safe deposit box. The detailed records can also be kept on your personal computer. However, looking to the security problems faced recently in the computer systems, I would advise to keep a hand written record in a special diary that may be stored safely away from other routine documents.
At the end of the will, you must specify as to who shall own all your assets item wise after your death. You can also distribute your assets to more than one individual. If you want, you can also form a trust of 2 or 3 persons who shall be empowered to execute your will as per your wish after your death. The trustees can be anybody of more than 21 years of age. If you are giving your assets to the minor, make sure to appoint custodian of your assets till the individual you have selected reaches an adult age.
This custodian must be a trustworthy person. Once you complete writing your will, you must sign the will very carefully in presence of at least two independent witnesses. These witnesses have to sign after your signature certifying that you have signed the will in their presence. The date and place also must be indicated clearly at the bottom of the will. All the pages of the will need to be signed by you and all the witnesses. If any correction is made on the will, such corrections also must be countersigned by the person making the will and the witnesses.
It is not mandatory for the witnesses to read the entire will. It is better to select the witnesses who are not related to you. They can be your friends, neighbors, or your colleagues at the job. They only certify as to you yourself have signed the will in their presence and are not the party in making the will. It is advisable to write your will on good quality thick white paper that does not get spoiled over a period of time. The will also may not be folded and must be stored in a plastic envelope in full size. The envelope has to be sealed after completing all the formalities and the seal must bear your signature and the date of sealing. The witnesses need not sign on the seal of the envelope. Registration of WILL is not mandatory, but if you wish you can register the WILL with sub-registrar or registrar office at nominal fees.
It is not legally required to get the will executed in a court of law in presence of a judicial Magistrate in India. However, if you wish, the will can be executed in presence of Magistrate or the public notary, nominated by the government authorities and sealed in their presence. You also should not take out many Xerox copies of your will. At the most, only one copy must be taken and stored separately from the original will. The will must be stored very safely in your bank in safe deposit box. You must also inform your next of kin as to where you have stored your will.
You can change your will any time you wish. However, make sure to mention that this will is the latest and supersedes all earlier wills. Making will in India is a very simple task. However, around 65% of Indians die without making a will creating the problems for their relatives. Such matters go to the court of law and can take several years before arriving at any final verdict.
I hope that the contents of this article shall encourage all to make their will with proper legal procedure in time so that their hard earned money is not wasted.
Best Regards
Prakash Nair
Certified Personal Financial Advisor (CPFA)
