Page 30 - Seniors Today - Vol1 Issue 3

Toolkit

Where there is a

Will…

…there is no ambiguity. Sonavi Kher
Desai explains why everyone must get
a Testamentary Will made

The English philosopher, John Locke, wrote:
“Every man has a property in his own person.
This nobody has a right to, but himself. The
labour of his body, and the work of his hands,
we may say, are properly his.” Although he goes
on to add a moral caveat, we can interpret this as
the right of every man, through his own effort,
to acquire property, which belongs entirely and
only to him. So how does a person’s property
devolve when he passes on? The answer to that
depends on whether he has had the foresight to
leave a “Testamentary Will”— in other words, until Solon made the law that allowed a person
whether he has died testate or intestate. to leave his property to someone outside the
It is advisable to make a Will to provide for the family, subject to some conditions.
distribution of assets after one’s death. A Will The basic requirement of a valid Will is that
is a legal document made by a person in his/ the person making it should have been of
her lifetime, containing directions about how sound mind and not a minor when the Will
they want their property to be distributed and/ was made, and it must be made of his/her own
or managed after their death. Interestingly, free will. There is no prescribed form for a Will
the practice of making Wills can be traced to although it usually follows a certain pattern
the Greeks. According to Plutarch, property to ensure that it is sound enough to prevent it
used to be inherited solely by a person’s family from being contested. In India, if a person dies

Discuss the details of your Will thoroughly with your lawyer, leaving no loopholes
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