TITILOLA AKINLAWON SAN
The second part of the series on wills and succession.
BRIEF HISTORY OF WILLS
The concept of wills in the English form can be traced to England after the Norman Conquest of 1066 where a man had the power to dispose of both his real and personal properties.
Before independence in 1960, Nigeria was a colony of Britain and due to Britain’s imperial sovereignty the general laws of England were introduced in Nigeria. The general laws of England consist of the Common Law, the doctrines of Equity and the enacted English statutes.
APPLICABLE LAWS ON WILLS IN NIGERIA
The statutes applicable in Nigeria on wills include:
- The Wills Act of 1837 which applies to states in Northern and some parts of the Eastern States of Nigeria.
- The Wills Amendment Act 1852 which also applies to states in Northern and some parts of the Western States of Nigeria.
- The Will Laws of Western Region 1958 which applies to the States comprised in the former Western Region including Edo and Delta States.
- The Wills Law Capt. W2 Laws of Lagos State 2004.
- Armed Forces Act No. 105 of 1993 which was enacted by the Federal Government to govern persons subject to Service Laws i.e. Officers of the Army Naval and Air Force.
- The High Court of Lagos State (civil Procedures) Rules 200.
NATURE OF A WILL
- Ambulatory and Revocable
Two fundamental characteristics of a will are that it is ambulatory and revocable in nature. The ambulatory aspect means that a will takes effect from the death of the testator (a person who has made a will or given a legacy). Consequently, any property mentioned in a will but disposed of by the testator before death cannot be affected by the will. Conversely, property acquired after the making of the will may be disposed under its terms.
A will is always revocable in the sense that it may be completely revoked, altered or added to by the testator during his or her lifetime as long as s/he complies with the appropriate formalities.
- AMINUS TESTANDI
An important requirement of the law relating to wills is that a testator must have executed his or her will with the intention that it is his or her last Will and testament. This will be lacking where, for instance, the testator is insane or was compelled to execute the will. This requirement does not, however, apply in the case of privileged wills. A privileged will is one that is valid even though it does not comply with the formal requirements of the Wills Act. The right to make a privileged will is conferred on soldiers, airmen and sailors amongst others.
Mrs. Akinlawon SAN obtained her LLB from the University of
Lagos in1980. She attended Nigerian Law School and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1981. She holds a Master’s Degree
(LLM) and was elevated to the rank of a Senior Advocate of Nigeria
(SAN) in August 2011