@Bilqees 24 February 2022

A written will Daniel's father died when he was sixteen. He never got to inherit the two landed properties that his father owned in discrete locations in the city. This was because Daniel's late father never told Daniel's mom about his investments based on reasons best known to him. Maybe he thought that she might change or of a sudden become greedy if he reveals his plans to her. **Thank** **you** 🙏 Daniel's father trusted his younger brother more, he was also his best friend as they have always supported each other since childhood. Before his sudden death, Daniel's father had always preferred discussing his business exploits with his younger brother rather than his wife. He told him all about his landed properties which he would use in raising funds for the education of Daniel and his sister abroad when they are done with high school. Unfortunately, Daniel's father died in a ghastly car crash a month before his son graduated from high school. All the documents of the landed properties were entrusted in the care of Daniel's uncle, and since Daniel's father never wrote a will neither did he inform Daniel's mother about his assets, Daniel's uncle betrayed his late brother's trust by claimng ownership of his properties and there was nothing anybody could do about it since there wasn't a written to prove otherwise. By the way, apart from the two brothers, no one else knows about these properties. Today, in order to feed his mom and sister, Daniel have got to work twice as hard just like any other young orphan, whose parents left them nothing after their demise all because his father never thought it wise to write a will. Daniel' is still struggling through life till today after his father's younger brother has abandoned him and his mother. Wherever his late father is now, his spirit would definitely be in tears because he never thought it wise to write a will or inform Daniel's mother about his assets while he was still alive. All the relentless efforts he was making in order to ensure a bright future for his children while on earth have been thwarted by a slimy younger brother. Well, that is a brief fictitious story about why it is very important for an individual especially one in the way of family to write down his/her will before an eventual demise so as to ensure the survival and future of one's family. It's common knowledge that alot of people find it difficult to think about the possibility of dying anytime soon. As humans, we prefer to think about "more important" things like making more money, settling bills, career or business advancement and living long enough to continue to provide for our loved ones. In the pursuit of these every day wants and duties, we always almost forget that life's fickle and we could lose it the next minute, leaving our loved ones all by themselves in the cold world. Well, on the contrary, I have heard stories and even read about some really wealthy men who before their demise, deliberately willed little or nothing to their children. Ofcourse such men have a different philosophy which to some extent is quite admirable. Such fathers believed that " rather than giving a child the fish, why don't we teach him how to get the fish". No doubt, in his younger days such a father had painstakingly built his wealth from scratch, from stone to stone without the support of a rich father or uncle. So therefore, they wouldn't tolerate any form of laziness from their children just because they were fortunate enough to be born into the period of wealth and abundance. Such parents don't usually believe that a will would be necessary. It's possible that they had already started teaching their children everything about wealth creation and multiplication from a young age before their time's up. It's also possible that some of the children if not all have already attained a level of financial stability in their own right before dad's demise. In such cases, a father's wealth would only come in handy as a further path for expansion in the future and not as an immediate source at the moment. It's also possible that a large chunk of the wealth might have already been willed to the grandchildren, charitable organizations, research instiutes or for community development. This practice is very common in the western world I suppose. And I think its quite ideal and justifiable. I know of a large airline company at the state where I live in the country which was declared bankrupt in less than a decade after the death of the founder. This was because the company suffered from gross mismanagement and incompetence in the hands of the younger generation who apart from an ostentatious lifestyle, know next to nothing about managing the family's wealth. Most of us must have already heard stories of great companies that were crumbled after the death of the father, who failed to teach his children financial education and how they would manage the family's legacy when he's no more. In my parts of the world, the father's will is equitably distributed to all members of the family according to the particular culture or tradition and even according bro the religious beliefs. Things might get quite complicated if the man was polygamous whereby the various factions might not be comfortable with the sharing formula applied in the distribution. In most cases , everyone would be contented and respect the dead man's wish. Things might get messier when the head of the family had failed to write a will before his death. An ugly and prolonged war among co-wives and step siblings might ensue for a long time both in court and outside the law where everyone fights dirty in the scramble of the late man's assets. ******************************* Thank you for staying with me ♥️♥️♥️