Counting The Cost of Intestacy & Estate Plans

My father died intestate in October 2012 as a Christian two years after his faith conversion. Although my parents performed the “Nikkah Ceremony” and practiced Islam till 2010, there’s no record to show that they had changed religion.

Mummy was co-signatory to some of his corporate accounts and he had bought some real properties in the companies’ names. However, he owned several land properties, some used as ranches and plastic/nylon factories in Kwara state, others still lay bare.

Mummy informed *Laraba, (my only sibling, now married) and I that he was also negotiating with investors on a Solar Energy project in Sokoto State since 2008, but she’s not a director in the said company. She asked that I carry out a search on the company to know who the other directors are, unfortunately it revealed that I have step brothers, facts also confirmed by his cousin, my uncle who is one of the directors in the company.

I asked my mum if she was aware of the other woman and her sons, but she said he was never married to her, that they only had children together because she had no son for him.

I find it hard to believe this fact, especially that both kept such information from *Laraba and I. We were Muslims afterall so why should this be a family classified information.

At that point I suspended the assets compilation, because of this finding. My late dad owned shares in Oil Companies, Banks, Cadbury and Nestle, applying for Letters of Administration will be futile since Islam prescribes how a deceased person’s properties should be administered to surviving heirs and also charitable causes.

It was such herculean task I must confess especially having to visit Kwara State, for the land valuation. Most complicated is the thought that he put us through this probate administration ordeal when he would have prepared a will to cover whosoever’s interest he wanted to favour more than the other.

Often times before getting married, we hardly understand the long term implications of nuptial contracts. For some it’s something adults do, for others age is taking its toll, while to some, religious belief is the deciding factor for marriage: why burn with passion when you can get married?

We might not have tangible reasons for everything we do in our daily pursuits but considering that life is not an easy breezy ride calls for the need to be mindful in whatever we get involved in as adults, especially the consequences that comes with being married. Who would have thought that such usual norm would have legal implications on properties owned by the deceased and his survivors.

I’m more worried about the fact that Africans hardly have deliberate conversations about money and inheritance while growing up or when the time is due. I’m not the only person having to go through this journey. My bestie, *Zino had to quit work at one of the prestigious law firms where she had been practicing for over seven years when she realised the enormous responsibility that came with managing her father’s estate.

Most people in Africa (including the educated ones) do not take advantage of the estate planning vehicles. It is a known fact that young people are complacent about estate planning. More like an unconscious legacy in Africa, *Zino, who is currently a wealth management consultant admits. Especially for people of the Christian faith, we believe that if we pay our tithes, give offerings and also towards faith building projects, all of these needs will be cared for mystically. The unexpected is something that is compared to casting our cares and tomorrow will be sorted forgetting that a good man leaves inheritance for his children’s children.

These faith practices are good but it’s also good to plan your assets, health care and any emotional message to loved ones, even how you want to be buried. Making plans for your health doesn’t always imply that you are managing some malignant disease, but realistically, you might have a toothache that can leave you bedridden for a week or even health checks that should not be postponed. All these can be provided for in a basic health insurance package. Africans fail to admit that health issues are also inherited. While you teach that sin is the cause of sickness, it’s also important to teach that diet and other lifestyle habits have health implications, especially where there’s no money to cater to these issues.

After *Zino’s father died of a cardiac arrest and partial dementia in 2012, her mother and her brothers are more receptive to the “ Estate Plan Message” she’s preaching through wealth management. More instructive is that in 2012, *Zino’s mother admits, he did not know her or their children sometimes. Although, her mother tried to seek assistance for her late husband in dying but found there was no one who would do it, because at that point, he was not competent to appear before a judge in the English courts.

“Now, Zino’s mum is taking stocks and not only planning her estate but also following up with her grandchildren, ensuring that their interests in the arts is funded whether or not Zino’s brothers and Zino will be able to fund it especially with the high cost of living these days. She’s taking her grandchildren to toastmasters meetings and they are loving it so she’s explicitly planning that at eighteen all her grandchildren should be members of toastmasters clubs and their dues paid from her estate.

That’s what a will does, it documents your wishes and intentions when you’re long gone and ensures your properties and interests devolves on heirs and loved ones.

*Not their real names

*Zino and her family members are British citizens