By Peter Kahindi

As I age, I contemplate on the important things we ignored in our early adulthood.

Some of them make me laugh, but there are those that slam into my brain like a HOWO truck being operated by a regular maniac on a Kampala road.

This week, for instance, I realised that most of us have not yet written out our Wills or Last Testaments. 

The reasons educated people present for this are as varied as they are colourful… and nonsensical, given the many possible consequences of dying intestate. 

There are those who claim superstitious reasons. They suggest that writing a Will is “a clear sign that you have given up on life and are ready to join the ancestors.” 

Then I have friends who believe that the material things they have acquired so far in life are “not enough to necessitate the writing of a Will.” 

One wonders what unit of measurement is applied to determine “enough.”

A third category includes those who want to keep what they own or what they are worth to themselves, away from everybody on earth, including their lawyers. 

And the fourth,  those who are simply not aware of the importance of a Will.

The category I find most curious are these educated and exposed folks who know full well the importance of a Will but just refuse to write one “because I won’t be around anyway” or some other intellectually incoherent reason.

Before we delve into it, let me state that this is not a lecture about Wills, as I don’t possess the required qualification to offer one. 

It is simply an observation on our general mannerisms about everything, especially those things we don’t deem important yet they are critical.

A Will or Last Testament is a written and witnessed document indicating a deceased person’s desires on how to deal with their earthly belongings once they are gone.

Belongings can range from physical to non-physical assets both movable and immovable. 

So, this could inform us about how wide this bracket of property can be.

When you have loved ones – and these may include your most immediate family and dependants – the best thing you can do is ensure you are very clear about how you wish them to benefit from what you have worked so hard for in your life (so far). 

Not leaving a Will, on the other hand, has the extreme opposite effect.

As a SERIOUS person, you need to write a Will.

If you ask me when you should start, I would advise that it should be as soon as you open your first bank account, join your first savings and investments club, get your first job or the first gig.

If you have not yet done so, then START NOW!

As soon as any of these happen, you already have belongings.

Wills are not one-off declarations. 

You can purpose to revise your Will every year, two years, five years or any period of your choice depending on the changes in your affairs as time goes along. 

The fact is that every new Will has the natural, necessary and inevitable effect of revoking the previous one and this prevents the issue of many and confusing Wills touching the same estate.

Refusing to write a Will as most of us have, is a recipe for confusion; with families once united dragging each other through bitter, irreconcilable and protracted legal disputes – or worse. 

The majority of the cases at the Family Division and the Land Division of the High Court arise from disputes informed by land, property or estates where the deceased person passed away without a Will – which is  referred to as Intestate.

Dying without a Will or the state of intestacy is so rampant in Uganda that our laws regarding the same have been adjusted over time to address it. 

At one time, the Succession Act, Cap 162 was marred with provisions that offended the Constitution (especially discrimination against women). 

Under the Amendment of 2022, a decent attempt was made to correct the above and also cover scenarios of distribution ratios based on the relations as well as the protection of the family home (residential holding) against grabbers and relatives eager to evict and sell. 

These provisions were introduced to, as much as as possible, ensure that the beneficiaries of the estate were protected from hostile external forces. 

However, these statutory interventions still do not address all scenarios. The court-sanctioned allocations are only possible if the estate is under formal Administration proceedings and there is still a possibility of unfair distribution because the whole process is almost robotic.

So, we still insist that the preparation of a binding Will within the provisions of the law is necessary in order to avoid all the above inconveniences. 

Because of their technical nature, the free advice here is that you should engage your Lawyer friend to help you prepare it so that it complies with the law. 

We have seen instances where Courts of Law have declared that someone died intestate even when they left behind a written Will. 

That happens because the said Will(s) fell short of the required form and structure. 

Having a clear and concise Will shields your loved ones from lengthy Administration processes, almost inevitable and emotive court battles that come with a lot of pain for your presumably loved ones.

And, in the event that you have children under 18, the naming of their guardian in the Will protects them from conspirators who may later impose themselves through a court process. 

You don’t want that if you love your family.

Friend: Write your Last Will and Testament now.