We are all going to die but few of us write wills, and there are people who die without leaving a will, which often provokes family conflicts. A will or testament is a legal document that spells out your wishes regarding anything you would want after your death. However, a will does not have to be about money or property only, it can stipulate anything that anyone wishes to be done when they die, for instance, who would be the guardian of your children when you die, when and how you wish to be buried and anything else that is important to you. When we asked our twitter followers what they thought was the right time to write a will while 49 per cent of the voters thought you should write a will when you get married or have kids, 26 per cent thought you should write a will when you are old or ill. With death being inevitable, you can ask yourself when you should start considering writing a will. The New Times reached out to a few experts and curated five circumstances under which you should write your will; 1. When you start acquiring anything you consider valuable To avoid mismanagement of any of your valuable property when you are dead when you start purchasing those things, then that should be an indication to start writing a will. This is according to Collin Gatete, a Kigali-based Lawyer. Who added that these things can be plots of land, a car, house, jewel or money in the bank. “Ideally this should be the time because you might die so suddenly and you never know what will happen to what you consider valuable when you are gone,” he said. 2. When you are ill You might get injured in an accident, or be diagnosed with a terminal illness, this could be an indication to get your estates in order and write a will in case you die sooner than when you had planned to. “In most cases, some people write their wills when they are ill or have been in a serious accident because they do not want to die and leave their property unmanaged,” said Gatete. 3. When you spot conflict over property The moment you notice some sort of tension in your family, partners over some of the property you own, then it might be a good time to write a will that shows exactly what you would want to be done, and how you would want your property to be distributed after your death. “This should be a convenient time to write your will” said Jules Ineza, a legal advisor. “You should write a will when you are avoiding conflict, between your spouse, children, partners or other family members, so all the misunderstandings can be avoided when you die.” 4. When you are the right age Any person who is the age of 18 and above can write a will. “This is because you are considered mature and an adult in front of the government, so if anyone has any wishes after their death, or any property to leave behind, then it is definitely a good indication to write your will” said Ineza. 5. Legal aspect A will is always going to be considered as a legal document in any situation that requires legal intervention after your death, so this should be a good reason to write your will. However, every will written should be witnessed, and validated by legal entities like the civil notary at the sector, a lawyer or a legal advisor. “This will prevent your testament to be void in front of the law because its content is not in line with the law, which will lead to your property to be inherited in hierarchy as the law states,” said Gatete.
