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Most Nigerians culturally shy away from discussing death and as such do not prepare their wills. However, when a person dies without a will, the question of inheritance gets complex. Luckily though, various aspects of Nigerian law have settled that with the next of kin issue.

In essence, the next of kin is significant in ensuring that assets don’t stay unclaimed upon demise. Ironically, a lot of Nigerians believe that using their spouses or family members as their next of kin means that ownership is automatically transferred to them should they pass. But, that isn’t the case.



Rather, the next of kin is a contact point the bank or any financial institution can reach out to in the case of inactivity. However, over the years Nigerian banks have been known to frustrate survivors of deceased account holders. To access deceased funds in bank accounts, probate or letter of Administration is required.

Probate will be required where a deceased died testate (leaving a will), while letter of administration is required where the deceased person died intestate (without a will). In any case, relatives of dead bank account holders do not find it easy re- covering the funds left by their deceased ones. It is more difficult for poor people.

A school teacher in one of the government schools in Orile-Agege, La- gos, who identified himself simply as Oladele, narrated his ordeal to Saturday Telegraph. He lost his sister on August 2, 2021, and had problems trying to claim the over N600, 000 sh.

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