A Will is basically a record of your wishes which you desire to be carried out when you die. Indeed, putting your house in order is really what drawing a Will is all about. You may have certain ideals and plans and most of the time, you don’t get the opportunity to share these ideals or goals with someone else and even if you did, that person may not have the legal power to carry out your wishes. Most of us will also have various examples of how families can turn against a spouse during a time of death and this can include throwing the widow out of the house, locking the doors to the bedroom and subjecting them to all kinds of rituals.

Even where Wills are drawn, depending on the family, there can be some problems as to what the ‘true’ intention of the deceased person may have been, so to not do a Will whilst you have all your faculties and whiles you can think about the future of your children is simply not wise.

However, if you are skeptical and for some for some reason never do a Will in your lifetime, it is prudent to know that when you die, your property will be devolved in accordance with PNDCL 111 (Intestate Succession Law of 1986). The only problem with this law is that it divides your property in fractions and the ones you truly care about may not always end up being taken care of.

The question that is usually asked is ‘can I prepare my own Will’? Well, it certainly is possible but because the law governing Wills says that to be accepted, it has to follow a certain format and procedure, it is also easy to draw up something that after your death, is thrown out for not conforming to the law. Lawyers will prepare the Will for you for a fee. The Ghana Bar Associations scale of fees also governs these fees. Usually, the assets involved, the issues to be addressed and the complexity of the Will usually determine the cost of the Will. To recap, some reasons why it is important to have a Will drawn up can be stated as follows:

1. Few people know your thoughts and future plans and those who do may not possess the legal ability to enforce those plans;
2. You simply cannot rely on the good faith of people to take care of your family the way you would;
3. Upon death, everyone’s property devolves – i.e. if you have property. If you don’t do a Will your property will still devolve but will be distributed in accordance with the Intestate Succession Law, 1985 (PNDCL 111) with all its imperfect and attendant problems;
4. Your Will can take care of future property you do not presently own;
5. You can always change or add to your Will;
6. It forces you to regularize title to your assets.

Most Wills will follow the following format although different drafting styles can influence the structure of some clauses. A sample is provided by clicking here.