Please be kind enough to educate me on the power of ‘’A WILL’’  and ‘’NEXT OF KIN’’ with reference to the following posers:1- what happens where there is A WRITTEN ‘’Next of kin’’ (official) BUT ,NO WILL- (Intestate)? 2-where there is NEXT OF KIN,(officially mentioned), intestate, BUT the siblings from other wives went ahead to use the deceased property/(ies) as collateral for Bank loan and the end defaulted in repayment,- leading to the seizures of such property/(ies) 3-IF the above occurs in a State in Nigeria where THE WILL ACTS,1837 is still being used and practised, will the location of such property/(ies) determine the type of  LAW that would/should apply and use? 4, Under intestate, can any other family member exercise any RIGHT WITHOUT THE CONSENT OF THE NEXT OF KIN?  Bright-O.

A will is the testamentary disposition of a testator and it is ambulatory in nature. In a layman’s language, a will is the expression of the intention of a maker on how his or her property or estate should be administered after his or her death. On the other  hand , a next of kin is a person that is called upon in case of any eventuality e.g death of the other party. A next of kin can be a spouse, child or relation. It should however be noted that a next of kin does not necessarily have to be a direct beneficiary of the deceased estate or entitlement.

On your first question, where a deceased dies intestate, what applies is the intestacy law of the jurisdiction where the deceased lived. A next of kin is only called upon and informed of the occurence.  In most cases the family applies for letter of administration from the probate registry through their lawyer has prescribed by the law.

On the second question, nobody has power under the law to use the property of the deseased in any manner other than that prescribed by the intestacy law. Consequently, the action of those who used the deceased property as a collateral for bank loan is null and void and of no effect whatsoever. Since they are not the sole beneficiary of the property, their action is illegal and the beneficiary can file a law suit against them and join the bank as a co-defendant. This is so because you cannot give what you don’t have.

On the third question, since the deceased died intestate i.e without a will, the law that applies in this instance is the intestacy law and not the will act.

Lastly, as I stated earlier a next of kin is merely called upon after  occurrence of death. So strictly speaking the next of kin does not really have a legal authority in this instance. The best he or she can do is to ensure that  necessary steps are taken towards obtaining letter of administration from the probate. On whether any family member can exercise any right without the consent of the next of kin will depend on the nature of the relationship with the deceased.