what is the procedure to make a will of all the property

638 votes

A Will is your direction that after your death, which of your asset (ie Estate) should be distributed to whom (ie Legatee).

Since you will not be around to ensure its distribution, you should mention who will do this (ie Executor).

In order to prove that the Will is indeed prepared and signed by you, you need two people to witness this (ie Witnesses). Of course you have to be an adult and of sound mind to make a Will.

A Will is the least legal of legal documents and if you follow a few simple rules, you can prepare it yourself and it can even be hand written. Contrary to what is the general belief, a Will does NOT have to be Registered, does NOT need to be on a Stamp Paper or even the green legal paper and does NOT need to be Notarized.

You can add/sell assets that are mentioned in your Will. You can change or withdraw your Will at any time. The latest Will is applicable even though an earlier one may be registered (although it is then better to register the latest).

In your Will, you can give or bequeath -

everything you bought from your income

asset that you inherited without conditions on future use

your share of every other asset

only 1/3 of your assets, if you are a Muslim.

It is possible that you have appointed nominee(s) for certain assets. Doing this is not enough because a nominee strictly speaking, is not a legal heir. A nominee is someone who takes care of your asset after your death until it is transferred to the real legal heir. If you don’t have a Will, the legal heir is determined by law and could stake a claim from the nominee and disputes could arise. A Will overrides a nomination.

Here are a few good practices in making a Will -

Keep your Will simple.
In general, the order of preference to distribute asset to legatees and their alternates is : (1) Spouse (2) Children (3) Parent(s) (4) Brothers/Sisters (5) Other Relatives (6) Friends. Many people prefer giving something to charity too.
Preferably don't give a asset to more than one person even if you specify their shares, since that can complicate distribution.
You can describe more specifically some assets which don't change often, such as real estate, or which may be confused with others.
Don't describe more specifically some assets that change often, such as "shares of X company" or "Y Mutual Fund".
Always select alternates to replace legatees. This is because death can come at any time and it's possible that a legatee has died before or along with you. You may therefore not have a chance to change your Will.
Certain persons are required to implement your Will after your death, such as Executors, Guardians, Witnesses etc. These people should preferably be younger than you, since their work starts after your death.
After making your Will, if there is any addition to the family or a key legatee or Executor or Guardian or Witness has expired, you should change your Will.
Any legatee (and an Executor, if you are a Christian or a Parsi) should not be made a Witness.
Keep the Will confidential. Nobody needs to read your Will, including Witnesses. They only witness your signature.

Advocate Siddhant Sharma LawRato