Battle with the dead

A Will or Testament in general is a lawful declaration by which a person or testator names a person or persons to manage one’s assets, property or fortune that provides for the transfer of such wealth at death.

In the strictest sense, a ‘Will’ has historically been limited to real property while ‘testament’ applies only to dispositions of personal property (thus giving rise to the popular title of the document as “Last Will and Testament”, though this distinction is seldom observed today. A Will, therefore, may also create a Testimony Trust that becomes effective only after the death of the person who testifies.

The Last Will and Testament of Adolf Hitler were dictated by Hitler to his Secretary Traudl Junge in his Berlin Fuhrerbunker on April 29, 1945, the day Hitler and Eva Braun married. They committed suicide the next day (April 30), three days before the surrender of Berlin to the Soviets on May 2, and just over a week before the end of World War II in Europe on May 8. Hitler’s Last Will was a short document signed on April 29 at 4.00 am which consisted of two separate documents, a Will and a political testament.

Foreign supporters

It acknowledged his marriage - but did not name Eva Braun - and they chose death over disgrace of deposition or capitulation; and their bodies were to be cremated.

Prabhakaran either did not want or have time to think of a Last Will or a political testament. May be he did not expect a sudden capture the way things happened and was rather confident of being rescued by his foreign supporters. Even if he had one such Will or a political testament confided in his wife or son Charles, they too perished simultaneously. Perhaps, considering the multimillion LTTE activities that operated from foreign shores he may have had confided in close LTTE lieutenants in the diaspora who are unable to execute it now under the present circumstances.

Coming back to everyday life and activities, just imagine what happens if a grand old dear lady takes a liking to you (which has happened to a few Sri Lankans working in London, Paris and Italy for that matter) and leaves a generous Will - say a few hundred thousand Pounds or millions of Euros with a mansion in England or a villa in Italy, on condition that you don’t step out of your line according to her wishes - say never to look at a beautiful woman for the rest of your life!

Would you start practising transcendental meditation and try to burn out all your animalistic desires and feelings with the power of concentration? Or can you lay your hands on the fortune in any other way?

Expensive business

According to the Law Society in England anyone leaving a Will with strict conditions attached to it can be contested. “It is up to the courts to weigh out and see whether the wishes of the dead person are unreasonable”. But the final Will of the dead person is normally completely binding unless there are exceptional circumstances”.

There are some canny examples of the Western eccentricity involving fortunes virtually put into ‘storage’ as a result of extra ordinary Wills.

My next door neighbour in London hailed from an affluent family but at the age of 40 he is compelled to confine to a rented room having a fortune in a Trust Fund under his name tied down as per his parents’ wishes that he should not get more than X amount of money per week or month! Naturally he did not have to work for a living but he became somewhat of a prisoner of his own fortune due to such conditions in the Will.

Spare a thought for the relatives of a teacher who died at 52 ruling out that no one should land on his sterling pound 500,000 estate before training as airline pilots!

Taking a case to courts is an expensive business in England (Sri Lanka is not second in that respect with procrastination as a symbol) .The prospect of a massive bill and the small amount left when everyone has had a slice of the action is usually enough to put anyone off a court battle.

One advantage in the British welfare society is that one could always seek legal aid (if one qualifies to receive such assistance) while contesting their Will, but would probably end up having to pay legal costs if the lawsuit is won. Dangers of having to contest a will are enormous. If it involves more than one party then it could turn nasty, sometimes depending on one’s patience and temperament and especially if it happens between two women!

Court decision

Once an English mistress, a shapely young blonde of a deceased Sri Lankan hung her head low before the magistrate while the legal Sri Lankan wife was contesting her husband’s Will. English doll’s guilt was clear. Indeed the Sri Lankan had been naughty and regretted not a moment of it. Being such a ‘fair minded’ person, wishes of the dead had been obviously to distribute his assets equally between his wife and mistress.

During the hearing, legal wife (Sri Lankan) bottled up all her anger more than she could possibly cope with, to keep her hand to herself. After the court decision public at large stood astounded as the Sri Lankan woman followed the frame of the shapely mistress along the high street pavement.

With unerring accuracy an umbrella was stabbed into the mobile buttocks of the pursued. The buttock, like two rabbits in a sack, bustle along, as an asp in pursuit - greater the haste, more the indignity. To an ever more frantic and rhythmic beat bottom rolled and the umbrella stabbed.

It all boils down to one thing. Unless someone is really in the money, it may not be worth beyond the grave to battle with the dead.

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