How To Make A Valid Will In Uganda

What Is Valid Will?

The will shall be attested by two or more witnesses, each of whom must have seen the testator sign or affix his or her mark to the will, or have seen some other person sign the will in the presence and by the direction of the testator, or have received from the testator a personal acknowledgment of his or her signature.

Below Is How One May Make A Valid Will In Uganda.

  • State your name,
  • Address,
  • Date ,
  • Where you are making this will from.
  • You may also identify yourself by stating further particulars like

(I). Father’s name

(Ii). Mother’s name

(iii). Grandparents

  1. Maternal
  2. Paternal

(iv) Your clan is

(vi) Your Tribe is

(vii) Your Religion is

  • Your Date of birth
  • Your Home Village
  • Your Home Parish
  • Your Home sub county
  • Your Home district
  • Your Home country
  • State your marital status
  • State your children if any children:
  • State your dependants if any that their names relationship and address (These should be relatives or other people whom you would like to provide for in your will)
  • Appoint your heir or heiress by stating his or her full particulars that could be son / daughter/ grandchild/ sister/ brother/uncle among others
  • Appoint the Executors/ Executrix of your Will if any with their full particulars i.e. names, their address and relationship for purposes of identification.
  • Appoint the person/ persons with his/her/their full details to be guardians of your young children if any.
  • List all your acquired the properties that you wish with their particulars
  • i.e. property, location and identification details
  • List the Bank Accounts(S) that you hold if any that’s account number ,account type, bank and branch
  • List your shares / interest in the businesses if any with:
  • Indicate your NSSF No. If any
  • Provident Fund No if any
  • If you are self employed (give details) including Address and Position of employment
  • Distribute your properties as you wish by stating the name of the beneficiary ,the relationship and particulars of the property/share given to or him

Ways Of Making A Valid Will In Uganda

LAW APPLICABLE

  • The constitution of the republic of Uganda
  • succession Act cap 162
  • THE COMPANIES ACT, 2012.
  • Among others.
  • A will or testament is a legal document by which a person /the testator /the maker expresses his or her wishes as to how their estate is to be dealt with or  distributed upon his or her death, and may name one or more persons (executrix or executor) to manage his or her estate until its final distribution

We Have Got Two Types Of Wills That Is Unprivileged And Privileged Wills.

  • Privileged will is A will made by any member of the armed forces being employed in an expedition or engaged in actual warfare, or any mariner being at sea if he or she has completed the age of eighteen years in accordance to section 53
  • Unprivileged will is a will made by a person not being a member of armed forces employed in an expedition or engaged actual warfare or a mariner at sea.

The Following Are Persons Capable Of Making Wills

  • Every person of sound mind and not a minor may by will dispose of his or her property.
  • A married woman may by will dispose of any property which she could alienate by her own act during her life.
  • A person who is deaf or dumb or blind is not thereby incapacitated for making a will if he or she is able to know what he or she does by it
  • A person who is ordinarily insane may make a will during an interval in which he or she is of sound mind.
  • No person can make a will while he or she is in such a state of mind, whether arising from drunkenness or from illness or from any other cause, that the person does not know what he or she is doing
  • A will or any part of a will, the making of which has been caused by fraud or coercion or by such importunity as takes away the free agency of the testator, is void. See sec 47 of succession Act cap 162
  • A will can be revoked or altered by its maker at any time when he or she is competent to dispose of his or her property by will See sec 48 of secession Act cap 162
  • Section 50 of succession Act cap 162 is to the effect Except as provided by this Act or other law for the time being in force, every testator not being a member of the armed forces employed in an expedition or engaged in actual warfare, or a mariner at sea, must execute his or her will according to the following provision s—
  • the testator shall sign or affix his or her mark to the will, or it shall be signed by some other person in his or her presence and by his or her direction;
  • the signature or mark of the testator or the signature of the person signing for him or her shall be so placed that it shall appear that it was intended thereby to give effect to the writing as a will;
  • the will shall be attested by two or more witnesses, each of whom must have seen the testator sign or affix his or her mark to the will, or have seen some other person sign the will in the presence and by the direction of the testator, or have received from the testator a personal acknowledgment of his or her signature or mark, or of the signature of that other person; and each of the witnesses must sign the will in the presence of the testator, but it shall not be necessary that more than one witness be present at the same time, and no particular form of attestation shall be necessary.

A Will Is Essential To Avoid The Rules Of Testate Succession

If the deceased foreigner has left a will then the administrator of the estate must adhere to the wishes of the deceased, whether the property has been left to a Ugandan citizen or to a foreigner. Any person who does not want his/her property in Uganda to be devolved by intestate succession must therefore make a will in which he/she directs how the property should be distributed.

A person can freely bequeath his/her property to anybody in a will, but if the testator is domiciled in Uganda, then the will must be made locally, follow Ugandan law, and provide reasonable provision for the maintenance of dependent relatives, who, on the date of the deceased´s death, include:

  • A spouse or child under 18 years of age, or a son or daughter above 18 years of age, who is wholly or substantially dependent on the deceased.
  • A parent, a brother or a sister, a grandfather or grandchild who was wholly or substantially dependent on the deceased.

Please Note The Following

  • The maker should be free from any form of influence or coercion.
  • Have at least two people who are not beneficiaries in the will to witness your will.
  • If you cannot write get somebody to write for you what you wish.
  • Counter sign on each and every page of your will.
  • The witnesses are under any obligation to know the contents of your will.
  • Avoid the contents of your willing linking to the general public including beneficiaries.

Author is A regional transactions legal consultant (ADVOCATE) at NOA REGIONAL ASSOCIATED ADVOCATES AND LEGAL CONSULTANTS

contacts. +250787311255,+256788105242,+256782105042
What sup +250787311255
Email address: onlinetransactionconsultancy@gmail.com.


NOTE –

whereas the author has made necessary efforts to ensure the accuracy of this post, it is not intended to provide specific legal advice to a particular individual as individual situations may differ.

For specific technical / legal transaction advice on this subject matter and related subject, you may contact the author at online consultancy fee, or contact any transaction legal consultant of your choice.
For avoidance of impersonation, all email correspondences/communication from me to you must be followed up with a phone call on the above mobile number to verify the contents of replies from my email account pertaining a given subject matter.

Note –

If your spouse and children are living in your principal residence, do not include your home and household property among the property to be distributed