James, an accountant with a Port Harcourt-based private engineering consulting firm, passed on 25 years ago after a successful career, and left for his only son Stanley and his two siblings, a six-flat two storey building in a commercial area of Aba town.
After the burial of James, who had lost his wife some years back, Stanley assumed ownership and control of the property and has used the income from the rent to take care of his two siblings, Josephine and Susan.
Stanley was relaxed and never imagined that someone in life left alone his uncle and late father’s younger brother could come to contest the property he inherited from his father.
So, Stanley never anticipated anything was brewing until in December 2015 when he travelled home for Christmas from Lagos where he resides with his wife and three children, when his uncle Kenneth called him that he will like to see him the following morning.
Stanley, not knowing what the call was all about gladly went to see him, on getting to the uncles house he was not received the usual way.
His uncle said “Stanley, I have been looking for this opportunity to come so that I can have a one-on-one discussion with you rather than calling on telephone. It is about the building at Aba town, which has been under your possession since the death of your father.”
He continued: “I allowed you to collect the rent of the house to enable you pay the school fees of your two sisters who were in school at that time. Now that they have graduated and married, I have come to take back the property because it belongs to the entire family and your father was managing it on our behalf”.
After listening to the story like ‘Tales from moon light’, Stanley was speechless, shocked, and so left his uncle’s house crying.
“This is not what my father told me because I knew when he was building the house while working as a senior engineer in Port Harcourt, Stanly said to himself.
Today, Stanley’s uncle is contesting the property he inherited from his father after his death almost 25 years ago. They are in court and anywhere Stanley takes the case to, he was asked “Did your father do a Will, because if there was a Will your uncle will not have any case here.|”
Now, Stanley is not happy with his late father, not because the man did not work hard to keep something for him and his siblings, but, because he failed to plan his estate by writing a Will for the administration of his property.
Experts at Stanbic IBTC Trustees Limited (SITL) said the company has continued to spread this gospel in the last six years to enable people understand the importance of estate planning and letting them know the different options and opportunities , by doing the right thing and the smart thing by putting in place an estate planning through a Will.
According to them, Will is a very important aspect of estate planning as you plan in anticipation of the inevitable, stating that Will is not a death wish, but more to make life better for the generation after us to ensure continuity.
Binta Max-Gbinije, chief executive officer, Stanbic IBTC Trustees Limited, a member of Stanbic IBTC Holdings speaking at a Round Table on ‘Lagacee’, said that estate planning through a Will is critical in achieving generational transfer of wealth.
Max-Gbinije noted that Nigerians work a lot to gather wealth, to own assets, hence the need to preserve family wealth and facilitate intergenerational wealth transfer.
She therefore urges Nigerians to leave a legacy that counts by embracing a culture that ensures the uncomplicated acquisition of assets and seamless distribution of such assets to cherished ones.
She said writing a Will should not only be done by the rich alone but any person that has savings and has been able to acquire properties from telephones to furniture, among others.
Max-Gbinije, further stated that this awareness campaign is part of the company’s duty and mission to enlighten the public on issues around having a positive legacy. This is not a brand promotion, but a concerted effort at drawing attention to the strategic role of estate planning in the seamless transfer of assets. This practice is essential for the overall orderly development of society,” Max-Gbinije stated. By having an enduring legacy, the values and ideals important to the individual would likely be maintained, she said.
She added, “When you are driven by the understanding that other peoples’ interests are as important as your own, then you will not have any qualms recognizing the importance of preserving the family’s legacy by creating a set of documents that helps in preparing for such certainties as death and taxes.”
Highlighting further the benefits of a will, she said it ensures that assets of the deceased are distributed to beneficiaries according to the wishes of the deceased when he or she passes on.
She said there are two kinds of Will service offered by the company – Simple Will service and Comprehensive Will.
She explained that the Simple Will covers the balance in a person’s Retirement Savings Account (RSA) and personal bank accounts irrespective of his or her Pension Fund Administrator (PFA) or bank, adding that the service is offered to individuals who would like to write their Wills to safeguard these assets.
Comprehensive Will, on the other hand, covers a person’s assets including real estate, cash in bank, shares, private companies and any other asset as determined.
Modestus Anaesoronye
