A person can ensure that his/her wishes with respect to his assets and property are followed after his death only if he makes a Will during his lifetime.
There often arise complexities when a person dies without a Will. In the absence of a Will your personal law will determine what happens to your assets regardless of your wishes; this is called "intestate succession". This would raise complications in sharing the property amongst family members, would give rise to disputes among family members and if the disputes go to the court, then the process is extremely expensive and time consuming. If you want to avoid property related trouble in the future, then the only way is to execute a Will during your lifetime.

So what is a Will and how should it be made?

A Will is the legal declaration of the intention of a person with respect to his property, which one desires to be carried into effect after one's death. The person making a Will is called as the ‘Testator'. When you make a Will, you can transfer all your assets to the person of your choice after your death. By a Will, a testator can dispose of or deal with any property moveable or immoveable, over which he has a disposing power, i.e. property over which he as beneficial owner can transfer after his death.

Who can make a Will?

Every person of sound mind, who is an adult, i.e. being more than 18 years of age, may dispose of his property by Will. A person who does not have capacity to comprehend the extent of his property and the nature of the claims of people whom he is excluding from participation would not be considered to be of sound disposing mind and thus would not be eligible to make a Will.

How should a Will be made?

A Will must be in writing and should be signed by at least two witnesses. A Will can also be revoked or altered by the testator at any time when he/she is competent to dispose of his property but any such alteration or revocation should also be in writing. A Will is not required to be stamped or registered. Registration of the Will is not compulsory; however it is always prudent to have it registered. The main reason to register a Will is to preserve it. It can be registered at any time in the Sub-Registrar's office within whose jurisdiction the immovable property is situated. A Will may be presented for registration by the Testator and after his/her death by the executor for registration.

There are several ways in which the original Will can be preserved in order to prevent it from being destroyed or tampered - It can be kept it in a sealed cover with the person who made the Will or with a person of his confidence or in a safe deposit vault with any bank. In the alternative, one can register the Will with the Sub-Registrar and on registration a copy of the Will is maintained at the Office of the Sub-Registrar. The Will may also be deposited for safe custody with the Registrar.

Sometimes, people also make Wills together, known as a ‘Mutual Will' or a ‘Joint Will'. A Mutual Will is made by two persons, generally husband and wife, whereby one bequeaths his or her property to the other and vice versa. Wills are mutual when the testators confer upon each other reciprocal benefits in each other's property or life interest. A Joint Will or a common Will is executed by two or more persons disposing of their joint or separate properties jointly. Such a Will is revocable by any one of them or by the survivor of them.

In India the laws governing wills and succession are The Indian Succession Act 1925, The Hindu Succession Act 1956 for Hindus, and Muslim personal law for Muslims. In case of Christians to execute a Will, one needs to obtain a Probate from the courts. A Probate is a court order approving of the Will as the last Will of the testator and ordering its execution.

Thus, the importance of making a Will cannot be understated. Not only can a Will make the distribution of assets clear, it can also minimize tax liability. A Will with clear instructions about donations to charities or gifts to a loved one can avoid them having to pay such taxes. Making a Will is simple and easy and can even be done on your own or with assistance from a lawyer. It should not be delayed especially if one's family structure is diverse, and if you want to leave your wealth to different members of the family.

Also read:
Important points while making a Will
Probate and its importance