Making a Will is important for individuals to ensure a smooth distribution of assets after their demise among family members. It has often been seen that family members of a deceased person get into legal fights when there is no Will.

These days, online platforms have made it easy for people to create a Will. However, individuals, who don’t want to go through online platforms, can write a Will themselves also. With the help of a Will, individuals can not only declare how their assets will be distributed among family members but also ensure their beloved pets are taken care of after their demise. This article explains what individuals need to do to create their Wills and how to include their pets.

Writing a Will is very simple. However, you need to ensure it is a valid one. “In India, you can write a Will on a white piece of paper in the presence of two witnesses,” says Vishnu Chundi, Founder and CEO of AasaanWill, an online Will creation platform.

While writing a Will on a piece of white paper, you need to include the following details:

First, list down all your assets clearly.

Second, decide who gets what from your assets or how your property will be distributed among family members after your demise.

Third, you need to appoint an executor of the Will. “The executor’s role is simply to read out the content of the Will and make sure the assets are distributed to appointed beneficiaries,” says Chundi.

Fourth, you need to identify two witnesses. They should be over 18 years of age. And most importantly, the witnesses must not be the beneficiaries of your will. You can have as a witness anyone from among your relatives or friends but they should not be direct beneficiaries.

Also Read: What happens to pets when their human parents die without a Will?

Fifth, once you have mentioned the above details, you need to sign the Will in front of the two witnesses. At this stage, you have a fully legally binding document. However, you need to take one more step to ensure this Will of yours is enforceable.

Sixth, you should now visit your local Sub Registrar Office (SRO) to get your Will registered. The process of registering a Will at the SRO office is the same as registering a property or a car. At this stage, you may need to consult someone who is familiar with the registration process at the SRO to save time and unnecessary hassles.

Who can be the executor?

The executor can be any person. Ideally, you should appoint as executor only that person whom you trust to properly do the job of reading the Will and ensuring asset distribution as decided by you. In India, usually, people appoint as executor someone from their family or someone known to the family, whom they trust to do this job well.

Chundi says the role of the executor is very important. “Ideally, you should appoint someone who is younger than you.”

Also Read: Succession Planning – Appoint a nominee, and then write a will

How to include pets in your Will?

Pets are often abandoned or sent to animal shelter homes when their owners die without a Will (read more details here). If you own pets, you can ensure their well-being after your demise through a Will. The following are the details of what you need to do to include pets in your Will.

While writing the Will, after you have mentioned the assets, you should have a clause which clearly says “Appointing a Guardian for My Pet”. The language should be also very clear, Chundi suggests.

For example, you can write something like this in the Will: “After considering the well-being of my loyal companion (Pet’s name), I give a sum of Rs XXX from my total estate to my friend Mr XXXX to ensure the continued care and comfort of (Pet’s name) throughout his life.”

Ideally, you should also appoint a backup pet guardian in the Will to ensure its well-being in case the primary guardian fails to provide care and companionship.

For example, you can write: “In the event where Mr XXXX is unable to take care of (Pet’s name), then I would like to appoint Mr YYYY as the secondary guardian of (Pet’s name).

“If you do that, you have already done 80% of the work. Now at this point, you should go and get your Will registered at the SRO office. This process is as simple as registering a property,” says Chundi.

Read next: Why is it important to include pets in your Will?