The Attorney General Chambers will soon table amendments to the Wills Act of 1902 and the Deceased Persons Estates’ Administration Act, which was last amended in 1991.
These amendments will simplify the process of probating/validating of wills and provide access to monies belonging to a deceased person whether the sum is kept in a Trust, a Coop Society or a place of employment.
“These are the simple amendments in the law that can have such an important impact on the lives of our people and this is the type of social law reform that our government engages in,” said Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Anil Nandlall. He was at the time speaking during his weekly programme ‘Issues in the News.’
In relation to the Wills Act, he explained that the current law requires the presence of the witnesses who signed the will for it to be probated, despite the likelihood of this process occurring years after the will was written.
Probate is the legal process in which a will is reviewed to determine whether it is valid and authentic.
“The law requires an affidavit from one of those witnesses to probate the will in court. That document must be produced when the will is probated but sometimes the witnesses are difficult to find so probates are held up for years…and the properties also deteriorate,” he explained.
To remedy this problem, the new Bill will require the witness(es) complete the Affidavit at the time of signing the will and attach same as part of the will.
The AG pointed out that while this may seem like a simple amendment, it can save substantial sums in court fees and legal expense while fast-tracking the probate.
In relation to the Deceased Persons Estates’ Administration Act, this document was last amended to allow the family of a deceased person to access up to $750,000 from that person’s bank account after their passing. However, monies kept in trust funds, coop societies or owed to the deceased by his/her place of employment remains inaccessible.
“Many persons die and leave money in a credit union and the amendment did not apply to that, they die and leave money in a coop society, many die and leave money at their work place in the form of gratuity or they worked more than half the month or been a part of Scheme,” Nandlall explained.
The amendments to this law will enable family members to access those sums which can be used to offset funeral expenses and other necessities.
The AG dubbed the amendments as “law reform with a social conscience” noting that a monetary value cannot be placed on the reforms but its social impact is immeasurable.
