My Grandfathers Last Will without an Attorney

by Kate
(Texas)

My father and my uncles do not get along well.

They had always feared a severe property dispute after the death of my grandfather. In fact, my father and his siblings were quite worried that my grandfather had never hired the services of an attorney for making a will. However, as it turned out, my grandfather being a cautious banker (as he was before retirement) had already written a will for himself way before his death.

Being a law graduate, I know that a will does not always need an attorney for prosecution and it appears that so did my grandpa. He took into account all his property and bank balance while framing the will. He provided for each and every item he owned and also provided for a miscellaneous clause of things that were not covered in the will.

We were not aware of his previous wills, some of them being written in utter anger and despair but being the prudent man that he was, he ensured that the final will revoked all the other wills that were an outcome of impulse rather than deliberation.

He appointed one of his close friends and financial advisor as the executor of the will and vested him with duty to see that it is properly divided among his sons. Unlike the equal division concept that most of the fathers take while making their will, my grandpa left property in accordance with the needs of his children.

He distributed the cash among all the children equally, while he left the house to my dad and youngest uncle since we live jointly, while leaving lands to my elder uncle.

My grandmother had died a few years ago, so grandpa also willed her jewelery to my mother and aunts in equal proportion. He also made sure of leaving things to his grandchildren and I got his precious book collection, while my brother got his rolex watch. My cousin got his stamp and coin collection that he had always loved.

He also took care of the legal requirements for a valid will and got it attested by two witnesses as is required in our jurisdiction. He also made sure that the will was clear and did not leave any scope for confusion with respect to each ones shares.