10 People that should write a Will in 2025

Bank account owners should write a will this year. Banks have a confidential legal duty to their customers. This means that they will not tell anyone what is in your account unless ordered by court or contained in your will. Thus, in the event of an accident, kidnapping, or any misfortune, your money may remain in the bank forever if there is no will or power of attorney to direct what should happen to your funds. I know a man that died left so much money in his account for years, but the family was suffering until there was a court order to access the accounts. Some banks will still not disclose all the account details if they know that no one else knows the other account details.

Those from mixed-religion families should write a will this year. If you have Muslim brothers, sisters, or relatives, or you have Christian brothers, sisters, or relatives, it is important to write a will. This is because some Muslims will not inherit a Christian, and some Christians will not inherit a Muslim. Ditto for other religions. Hence, if you desire your relatives to inherit your estate irrespective of their religion, then you need to write a will.

Civil servants, workers, and employees badly need to write a will. There is not a single day that employers, organizations, or government agencies are not battling with relatives on who should get what percentage of the entitlements or death benefits of their staff that died unexpectedly. To help your family and loved ones, to help your organization, employers, or government, you need to write a will. No one knows tomorrow.

Those who have wicked village uncles should immediately write a will. Wicked village uncles are popular these days, and it is possible you may have some. A few years ago, a retired civil servant died and left behind all female children. The uncles came to take over the only house left by the man. Luckily, he left a will, bequeathing the house to his children. When we produced the will from lawful custody, the drama ended.

Online account owners should immediately write a will and also prepare a power of attorney. Some TikTokers, Instagram account owners, X account owners, etc. don’t know what will happen to their accounts when they pass on to the great beyond. Some of these accounts may continue to make money or continue to exist long after the death of the owners. Have you not seen notification of the birthday of a dead person on Facebook? You can die physically and be alive online forever. A well-written will should provide for what should happen to your digital assets. How your name, image, or Web3 accounts should benefit the people you left behind.

Poor people should urgently write a will this year. Many mistakes make a will to be for the rich. That is totally wrong. Imagine you die poor, and they are spending millions or even billions to bury you. A well-drafted will by a competent lawyer will specify your burial wishes and can state how millions donated for your burial can be used to settle your debt, saved for your children or relatives, or even gifted to charity, church, or your club or society. Do you want to be buried at home, at a cemetery, in your village, at sea, burnt to ashes, cremated, in a casket, or in plain clothes, in accordance with Islamic rites or your custom? State it in your will.

Rich people should have written a will 10 years ago; otherwise, they should write it now. The only category of rich people I don’t advise to write a will are those that don’t have a lawyer and can’t keep a secret. This is because apart from the testator (person making the will) and his lawyer, by law no one else is supposed to know the content of a will until after the maker dies and the family gathers to hear the content of the will from the lawyer. The law is strict in this regard to protect the maker of the will from being harmed by beneficiaries or people he is giving his estate to in the will. Thus, a beneficiary in the will is not supposed to know there is a will or what is contained in the will; otherwise, it is invalid. Don’t make the mistake of letting people know that you wrote a will or that your lawyer has written a will for you. Apart from legal implications, you can be putting your life in danger, especially if you have heartless relatives. Let me not talk much here.

Those with mistresses or side chicks should write a will quickly. There is a high risk that your side chick will know a lot about you and take for herself what should go to your family. There are also some well-behaved and emotionally invested mistresses that may qualify to be gifted something in the estate. Take, for instance, a mistress who has given birth to a child. A lot of problems can come up with regards to what she and her child may get without a will.

Air travellers, seamen, and travellers generally should write a will. Anytime you get into that plane, ship, or journey, anything can happen. If there is a mistake from the airline, huge financial compensation in USD is allocated to the family. Who and who should get what should be in your will?

Entertainers or artists, musicians, writers, and all intellectual property owners badly need a will. Some intellectual properties, like copyright in music, last 50 years even after the death of the owners. This means after your death, your family can continue to sell copyright to your books, music, productions, computer programs, codes, etc.

I wanted to talk about cryptotraders, those with infants or minors, foreigners living in a foreign country, those living outside their states of origin, single mothers, single fathers, those going for surgery, etc., but we will do that in chambers or next time.

Remember that ignorance of the law is no excuse

P. D. Pius, Esq
P. D. Pius & Associates Law Firm
contact@pdpiusandassociates.com

Source: BarristerNG