Will writing: Myths and misconceptions

A Will is an acknowledgement of mortality – a physical reminder that we are after all mortals. A Will is often regarded as remembrance of death, and therefore coming to terms with the fact that we will die or even imagine that one has finished his “race’’ in the world or that he has completed his life assignment here on earth and therefore must depart to another realm of the unknown is one of the most difficult things most people would want to contemplate.

I am therefore in agreement with recent research which indicated that 8 out of 10 Nigerians over the age of 45 don’t have a will and that 7 out of 10 will sadly not make one before they pass. The subject is therefore not only very difficult to discuss but also difficult to accept.

I have, while making presentations on this topic, come to the realise that a sizeable number of my audience do not bother writing a Will because of the myths and misconceptions surrounding the topic.

The average Nigerian, and most surprisingly some highly educated adults, are put off by the idea of writing a will due to certain cultural myths, misconceptions and fears surrounding the topic. The first reaction when the topic is either discussed or mentioned is that “it is not my portion’’ and you are left then to wonder, whose portion is it?

Myths and misconceptions about writing a Will in Nigeria:

In this write up, I will attempt to identify and possibly list some of the key reasons why people generally abhor writing will or putting in place any form of trust to safeguard their family members when they die.

i. As remembrance of death. Once the idea of writing a will is conceived or where one is encouraged to write his will, there is the psychological fear that one is most likely about to die. I remember inviting two of my friends who coincidentally are both lawyers to witness my will. I was shocked when the most senior amongst the two asked “lawyer (referring to me), are you sure you are ok’’.

For him, I was too young to write a will except something was wrong with me or that I had a terminal illness that was going to lead to my death or simply that I had a premonition of death.

There is the presumption in some African cultures that young people do not die except that such death is caused by unnatural forces. For them, only elders are assumed to have finished their assignments on earth and can be perceived as due to go home to their ancestors; anything to the contrary, is the hand work of the enemy.

This explains why it is often very painful when an aged father buries his son, the reverse should always be the case. There are tribes in Nigeria who believe very strongly that every death is caused by someone or something unnatural. To them, people do not die of natural causes.

Something unnatural or diabolical must have killed the dead man. In fact, oftentimes, the dead man will not be buried until someone owns up to being responsible for his or her death. Therefore, the assurance that if I do not offend my enemies, I would live very long, tends to give us the false assurance of insulation from death except at very ripe age.

For people with this mindset, they will live long to see their children, grandchildren, and even great grandchildren, so the contemplation of death, particularly an earlier departure, is suppressed.

The religious, cultural, and socio-psychological biases fit into this narrative and makes the writing of Will unimportant. Such people often forget that having a Will means making proper plans for the division of their estate after death.

ii. Reliance on tradition in the distribution of assets. Nigeria is composed of more than 300 ethnic groups, the largest of which are the Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba. Other than the Hausa that mostly practice Sharia law, each ethnic group has a system of customary law, although variations are noticeable among communities in these groups meaning that there is no uniformity in inheritance laws in Nigeria. This explains why most states in Nigeria have, as much as possible, try to enact their own laws relating to inheritance.

It is also important to note that the Nigerian society has a strong culture of male dominance. In Edo state for instance, this has been given judicial force and voids any will that transfers certain assets to beneficiaries other than the first male child.

Similarly, in Nigeria, most households are centred around a well-connected kinship. The fathers, as sole breadwinners, are oftentimes left under the illusion that their family and kinsmen will be reasonable enough to share their assets in such a way that all members of their family would be treated well after their demise.

To them, there is no need to write a Will as the interest of all their family members would be adequately taken care of by their surviving brothers or eldest son. Sadly, experience has shown that even children of same parents hardly agree on how the assets of their deceased father are shared not to mention the involvement of brothers to the deceased, which often makes matters even worse.

While they wallop in this ignorance, death strikes; and with no Will or any form of estate plan, their wives and children are oftentimes, subjected to dehumanizing practices and estate (property) grabbing. Also, there are communities where only the brothers of the deceased or his maternal uncles are allowed to inherit his assets to the exclusion of even his wife and children irrespective of gender. In Igbo land particularly, the female is sometimes excluded from benefiting from their father’s estate upon his demise in the name of custom and tradition. So, people who belong to these societies do not bother leaving behind a Will because for them, tradition would take care of his estate and those left behind. Sadly, they do not, in the process, put in place any form of estate plan to safeguard their loved ones but expose them to untold hardship when they are long gone.

iii. Unaware of the consequences of not having a will. A popular misconception among Nigerians is that once I have indicated a Next-of-Kin in my documents, that is my chosen heir. Unknown to many, a named next of kin is merely the first point of contact and information, empowered to make decisions for you in case of an emergency only. He may or may not be a beneficiary of your estate.

For instance, in case you become temporarily incapacitated, the Next-Of-Kin can make medical decisions for you during a medical procedure. Thus, the Nigerian conception of the term ‘next-of-kin’ as beneficiary is erroneous. Having clarified this misconception, we encourage workers contributing to pensions under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) to write a will as required by section 8(2) of the Pension Reform Act, 2014 (as amended) and not to rely on the false premise that the named Next–of-Kin on the pension documents would step in as beneficiary when they die.

Once a person dies without a will, his estate is subject to intestate succession which means that his heirs are imposed on him by law. The discretion to give out your property the way you want is thus taken away. For workers contributing to pensions, if you die without making a Will, your dependents can only access your RSA balances by obtaining Letters of Administration in line with section 8(2) of the PRA Supra which takes longer time, very costly and most importantly, dis-entitles you from having any say on who gets what.

iv. The erroneous belief that only wealthy people need to write a will. There is always the excuse that I do not own anything, or I am just starting life and have no assets to put in a Will, therefore I don’t need one. The above misconception tends to discourage many from writing a Will. For them, only the rich who have enormous wealth and a fleet of assets need a will to protect and share those assets.

Let me state for emphasis, that any sane adult irrespective of the few assets he owns, can and should make a Will. As earlier mentioned, all contributors to pensions are now required to have a will, detailing how the balances in their Retirement Savings Account (RSA) are to be distributed to their named beneficiaries upon death. The Pension Law has also provided two other options as to how beneficiaries can access your RSA balances. Sadly, those two options do not provide smooth and seamless means for your loved ones to have access to your pension contributions within months of your demise.

Read also: Why adding death to one’s financial plans is smart thinking

How to address these obvious myths and misconceptions.

Having identified some of the key myths and misconceptions about whether we need a Will, what then can we do to correct some of these outdated and obviously unsubstantiated beliefs that contribute to inhibiting Will writing.?

One of the tried-and-true ways of overcoming these misconceptions or erroneous postulations in Nigeria is for us to openly communicate, educate, and sensitize our people about the dangers of now making proper plans for our family. All stakeholders, facilitators at organised fora, Lawyers, Trust Companies etc should make themselves a resource for dismantling these myths and stereotypes by finding innovative ways of guiding average Nigerians and encouraging them to write a Will.

Governments can collaborate with the experts to come up with some incentives to encourage every Nigerian to have a Will. The tax applicable to assets bequeathed to beneficiaries, should be reviewed to a manageable level so that those who are concerned about the tax on assets should be encouraged to make a Will. Government can also encourage people by allowing beneficiaries to pay the estate fees in stages rather than enbloc and in advance.

As stated above, the several estate planning laws recently promulgated by some states in Nigeria have made the understanding of the concept more confusing and difficult. In a bid to address certain potential red flags and challenges associated with Will writing, certain states have further complicated the issue by taking away the right of a testator to bequeath his assets the way he wants.

Some states in Nigeria, to correct perceived injustice in the way a testator distributed his assets especially where supposed beneficiaries are excluded, have made laws that mandate a testator to bequeath a portion of his assets to certain beneficiaries even if that is against his wish. Legislations like this, tend to take away the right of a testator to give out his property to and to exclude whoever he wishes.

What is the business of the state in how I distribute my private assets? For instance, why must I be compelled by legislation to give away my assets to a beneficiary who was probably a thorn in my flesh while alive? Some of these legislations which tend to take away a testator’s discretion in the distribution of his property would further dampen the morale of those who would have loved to make a Will.

In view of the several inconsistencies in legislations dealing with inheritance law in Nigeria, the legislature should aim to amend and harmonise those inconsistencies to ensure smooth transfer of assets. By doing this, more people will be encouraged to take decisions pertaining to their estate without being anxious about whether justice will be served after their death.

Conclusion

While we all agree that writing a Will shows how responsible a person is even in death, there are still some myths and or misconception directly linked to psychological and cultural beliefs that tend to inhibit this. Cultural beliefs surrounding death or even ignorance on the implications of not having a will are strong reasons why many avoid the issue.

Therefore, to address some of these fears and or misconceptions, we need to find innovative ways of educating and sensitizing the Nigerian public on why a will is needed. By so doing, we will not only correct these misconceptions and fear, but we would have succeeded in addressing the long-standing beliefs and misconceptions about estate planning and particularly, will writing.

Gana, managing director, Greenwich Trustees Limited, writes from Lagos