Publication Title Reevaluating the Formal Requirements of Wills: Advocating for the Integration of Electronic Wills Download PDF
Publication Type journal
Publisher Khazanah Hukum Vol 6 No.2: 202-222 ISSN 2715-9698(online) DOI: 10.15575/kh.v612.35933 Pages: 203- 222
Publication Authors Lilian Ifeoma Nwabueze and Peter Ikechukwu Gasiokwu
Year Published 2022-10-10
Abstract This paper aims to examine the nature and purpose of the formal requirements of Wills highlighting their limitations and the need for adaptation in the context of modern electronic communication. The doctrinal research method was employed to evaluate legal problems and analyze the current statutory framework governing Wills. The study found that the traditional formal requirements for Wills intended to provide testamentary protection and serve as legal proof of execution, often fail to meet their purpose effectively. Judicial and judicious applications of these rules have revealed significant limitations. There is an urgent need for the law to adopt the technological advancement by incorporating electronic Wills. This adaptation would address the inadequacies of current formal requirements and ensure the effectiveness of testamentary dispositions as evidenced in its use in South Africa by all categories of persons – with or without legal knowledge; in the United States of America for exigencies and in Australia to ensure high level of confidentiality and secrecy. The paper recommends articulated formalities supported by electronic communication to achieve testamentary goals. It suggests amendments to the extant laws on Wills in jurisdictions where provisions for dispensing powers are missing while detailed and applicable electronic Wills legislation is recommended for jurisdictions that have long recognized the need for testamentary dispositions to join the global advancement in technology.
Publication Title ‘Electronically Preserved Wills: A Warranty for Confidentiality and Timeless Final Wishes.’ Download PDF
Publication Type journal
Publisher UNIZIK LAW JOURNAL Vol. 20(1) 2024. ISSN 23215-702x Pages: 164-175
Publication Authors Lilian Ifeoma Nwabueze
Year Published 2024-09-09
Abstract The power of a Will to serve its purpose depends on whether t testators‘ final wishes have been communicated in accordance with statutory provisions and whether the wishes have been preserved in substance and form to convey only the intentions of the testators. The process of making a Will and that of preserving the said Will compliments one another and a neglect of the latter process may mar the actualization of the document containing a well communicated last wishes. The traditional preservation mechanism appears to impede some Wills from being operational, yet, the situation is redeemable. This article employs doctrinal research methods in its analysis of the preservation of Wills and finds that the use of electronic devices to preserve Wills will ensure that they remain confidential and ageless until they are needed. The article recommends newness in the safety and storage of Wills through electronic preservation by legislative amendments in the statutes on Wills; The article has established the need for Wills to join the modern method of storing information which excludes interference to thee document.
Publication Title Will Making Process: A Move from Technicalities to Substance.’ Download PDF
Publication Type journal
Publisher Imo State University Nigerian Journal of Legal Studies (De Libertus) Volume XIII January 2024 ISSN: 1117-7527 Pages: 66-76
Publication Authors Lilian Ifeoma Nwabueze and Peter Ikechukwu Gasiokwu
Year Published 2024-01-20
Abstract Technicalities focus on rules. They concentrate on form so are determined through observable features. The present Will making process appear to tend towards technicalities whereas Wills contain issues that go beyond formal features. This article evaluates the Will making process as it relates to proof of testamentary wishes. It proposes a process that reveals the vital issues about Wills. The study adopts doctrinal research methods. It discovers that the present Will making process is responsible for frustrated testamentary wishes. The paper recommends a substance based Will making process. The paper has confirmed that the latter will aid the proof of Wills.
Publication Title ‘Sentencing Youthful Criminals: The Need to Juxtapose Penalty with Techniques of Character Modification’ Download PDF
Publication Type journal
Publisher Benue State University Law Journal Vol. 12, Issue 2, 2023. ISSN: 1596-9730 Pages: 280-303
Publication Authors Nwabueze Lilian Ifeoma
Year Published 2023-02-02
Abstract Crimes are broadly classified as misdemeanour or felony. In practice, they are also labelled as heinous and non-heinous offences. In either the former or latter classification, different penalties are provided in the code to reflect the seriousness and non-seriousness of the misconduct of an individual after conviction has been made by the Court. The punishment passed by the court seems targeted at crime reduction but crime rate speaks to the contrary particularly among young persons who reside in rural areas. The objective of this article is to evaluate the punishment schemes in the Code with a view to determining its role in meeting the objective(s) for its use. The paper adopts doctrinal research methods in the analysis of issues relating to punishment and the impact of same on youthful criminals. The article finds that offence-centered sentence seems to have less impact on the character modification of youthful criminals than a holistic sentence comprising the peculiarities of young offenders and the offence committed. The paper recommends a review of the law so that sentence will inter alia reflect the nature of young criminals and their level of exposure. The article has re-affirmed the need for sentence orders to be complimented where necessary with character modification techniques for better actualization of the goals of sentence.
Publication Title ‘Development of Formal Requirements for Wills: Towards a Change for Better Will’ Download PDF
Publication Type journal
Publisher UNIVERSITY OF UYO LAW JOURNAL VOLUME 10 (2022) ISSN: 1119-3573 Pages: 107- 124
Publication Authors Lilian Ifeoma Nwabueze
Year Published 2022-10-10
Abstract Formal Wills are defined by statute because statutorily specified formal features are needed to give them validity. The features which include writing and proper execution were not all conceived simultaneously with the notion of testamentary disposition as we have them today. The statutory journey of these features may have begun before the birth of Wills under the 1837 Wills Statute of England. This article traces the use of formal features in testamentary disposition to meet the yearnings of persons who desired their last wishes to be honoured. Change, which is a prevalent feature in the development of Wills, appears to be undermined after the Wills Act despite the shortfalls in the application of the statutory requirements. This paper analyses the subject and notes that formal features can be made self-proven and all-encompassing when communicated through technological means. The paper asserts that change in the direction of technology is required for Wills made under digital era. It proposes the incorporation of technological changes into Wills and recommends amendments to the provisions on the Wills law to include the use of technological devices in communicating Wills.
Publication Title ‘Revocation of Wills through Electronic Medium: Fine-tuning Wills through Technology’ Download PDF
Publication Type journal
Publisher DELSU LAW REVIEW Vol. 9, No. 1 DLR 2023 ISSN: 0331-3638 Pages: 180-215
Publication Authors Lilian Ifeoma Nwabueze
Year Published 2023-12-12
Abstract Revocation is fundamental to the attainment of the goals of testamentary disposition. The element of revocation in Wills makes testamentary disposition a unique instrument for the disposition of testators’ estate as done by them. The phrase ‘last testamentary wishes’ attributed to Wills is earned through the process of revocation. Yet, the laws on Wills have no specific provisions on comprehensive revocation medium that will outlive testators, remain unaltered in substance and meet the essence of the law for its inclusion in Wills. The consequence is that Wills made by a testator to accommodate changes in his life may be given an interpretation that is different from his wish. This paper proposes the use of electronic medium to communicate and preserve physical and implied revocation of Wills as intended by testators. With the use of doctrinal research tools, the paper finds that electronic medium aids the revocation of Wills without eternal manipulations. It recommends the use technology in order to achieve seamless but valid update in Wills. The paper has affirmed that the intendment of the statutory provisions on Wills is better achieved where technology interfaces with the features of revocation in Wills.
Publication Title ‘Digital Wills: A Possible Alternative to Addressing the Problems of Testamentary Disposition’ Download PDF
Publication Type journal
Publisher UNIVERSITY OF BENIN LAW JOURNAL UBLJ (2023) Volume 22 No. 1 ISSN: 1117-8035 Pages: 197-218
Publication Authors Lilian Ifeoma Nwabueze and Peter Ikechukwu Gasiokwu
Year Published 2023-11-12
Abstract A Will appears to be an advanced testamentary instrument for the devolution of the property of a deceased person. Legal recognition is given to only Wills communicated in paper form. Paper Wills seem inadequate today where preference is given to paperless communication due to the advantages associated with electronic means of passing and retaining information. This paper examines the use of digital Wills for enhanced testamentary disposition that will be testator-centered, eliminating obstacles in the actualization of testamentary wishes. The work adopts doctrinal research methods and finds inter alia that with the incorporation of digital Wills into the forms of testamentary disposition. Testamentary freedom will include testators’ choice of media for communicating last wishes. Digital Wills enhance the form and substance of testamentary disposition through the application of the continuous advancement in technology in the Will making process and storage. Digitalization of Wills is recommended unconditionally in today’s world.