By Tolulope Adeyemi
Court’s Approach to Rectification of a Mistake or Mis-description in Wills and Testamentary Documents
- Introduction
- A Will is a legal document which enables a person, known as the testator, to declare his intentions and wishes regarding the distribution of his estate and management of his affairs after his death. In the case of Okeke v. Okeke, the Court of Appeal defined a Will thus:
A “Will” in my understanding, is the legal expression, oral or documentary, of a person making a disposition of his property and for same to take effect after his death. By its very nature, a “Will” is said to be ambulatory and revocable during the lifetime of its maker that is before the act, here death, the occurrence of which is a condition precedent before the coming into being of the disposition so expressed. By a “Will” therefore, a man’s declaration of his intentions is to become effective only after the death of the declarant. It was no “will” where a declared intention was given effect to immediately after same was made and the death of the declarant was not made a condition precedent to the coming into effect of the disposition so made or its continuity.
Therefore, a Will allows the testator to ensure order and proper management of his affairs and estate after his death, which in turn may reduce the likelihood of chaos or disputes that may ensue among those who survive the testator
For the full article, please click the link.
