9 Tips on Making an Effective Will at Home

Last Will and Testament

Due to increasing number of COVID 19 cases, people have realized that they ought to prepare for the worst. In the last four months we have seen a surge in the number people making a Will and taking Life Insurance Policies. Some people still think a Will is a comprehensive legal document which requires a lot of formalities. However, making a Will barely takes more than an hour and it requires no registration, no stamp paper, and can even be handwritten (in fact, it’s better if it’s handwritten, but more on that later.). Here’s a few points to keep in mind while making a Will:

1) Essential Requirements: Your Will must include (a) Your full name and address; (b) Who will be your Executor (a family member or close friend who will oversee that your properties/monies will be distributed in accordance with the Will and who will apply for probate, if required.); (c) Which properties will go to whom (the main part of the Will!) (d) your full signature on last page along with date of signing (e) you require two witness to sign the Will (they don’t need to know the contents of the Will they just need to identify your signature)

2) To Type or Not to Type: The most basic ground to challenge a Will is to say that the signature on it is forged. A Will written by hand (formally called a ‘Holographic Will’) is harder to challenge since it is difficult to contend that the handwriting on the entire Will is forged. Consider writing your Will by hand, if you have a legible handwriting!

Novation of Agreement & Change of Ownership while Vessel is under Arrest [M.V. Nikolaos-S]

Certain fundamental principles of maritime law in India were re-visited by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in its Judgment dated 14^th September 2017 in Chrisomar Corp. v. MJR Steels Pvt. Ltd. [Civil Appeal No. 1930 of 2008], which can be found here. It is pertinent to note that at the time of passing of the Judgment the Admiralty (Jurisdiction & Settlement of Maritime Claims) Act, 20117 passed by Parliament had not come into force.

Brief Facts:

Without going into the   detailed dates of events, the relevant facts leading to filing of the Civil Appeal are as follows:

Is UAE a reciprocating country u/s 44A of Code of Civil Procedure?

A lot of online articles and blog posts mention ‘United Arab Emirates’ as one of the ‘reciprocating countries’ under section 44A of the Code of Civil Procedure,1908 (“CPC”). However, there is a cleavage of opinion among legal experts on this issue.

There is no dispute regarding the other ten countries, viz. United Kingdom, Aden, Fiji, Republic of Singapore, Federation of Malaya, Trinidad and Tobago, New Zealand, the Cook Islands (including Niue) and the Trust Territories of Western Samoa, Hong Kong, Papua and New Guinea and Bangladesh, being reciprocating countries.

Homecoming of Terror - Review

You must be wondering what a review of an episode of House of Cards is doing on a legal blog like this one. Well, like everyone else, I too am an ‘Underwood nuts’ and would be remiss in my duties as a lawyer if I didn’t give my fellow lawyers who are buried under tons of paperwork a brief review of the premier episode of Season 5.

Freedom of Speech and Expression

The below article is written by Nirali Parekh.

Also, read A Clipped Bird.

 Freedom of speech and expression is a fundamental right guaranteed to all the citizens residing within the territory of India[1] .It enables and gives opportunity to all  the  citizens to put forth and express their thoughts and opinions, playing an essential role in enhancing the growth and development of the country.

Succession Certificates: Why Everything People Know about Them is Probably Wrong & Why that May be a Good Thing

We all know what succession certificates are, or at least we think we do. The words ‘succession certificate’ brings to mind a document in nature of probate or letters of administration. Therefore, on the death of a member of a co-operative housing society, the society will usually require legal heirs to obtain a succession certificate, before entering their names as members of the society. Even statutory bodies like MIDC or CIDCO also follow the same practice. Even companies at the time of transmission of shares request legal heirs to produce a succession certificate before entering their names in the company’s register.

Annihilation of Caste: The Best Solution? (Part - II)

(This is the second part of a two-part article. First part can be found here.)

Relevance in Modern Times

Dr. Ambedkar refers to caste as an “anti-social spirit” i.e.  the “spirit of protecting its own interests.” Although the Constitution of India itself does not provide a definition of ‘caste’ there are just under a hundred references to it in the Constitution. The Constitution uses the term caste in two senses. Firstly, it is used in the term “Scheduled Caste,” usually along with ‘Scheduled Tribes‘, ‘weaker sections,‘ or ‘backward classes'. In this sense, caste consists of several groups and tribe. It includes those who endured social or economical discrimination at for centuries. These groups or tribes are those for whom certain special provisions of representation were made due to inter alia inadequate representation during British administration and to make up for  past social, economical and political inequalities as well. Secondly, the Consititution uses caste in articles prohibiting “discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex” and also, ‘class,’ ‘place of birth,’ ‘language,’ ‘descent,’ and ‘residence.’ In the first sense, caste is a curative measure to make up for historical inequalities. In second sense, seeks to bring about equality in society, with its focus on present and future scenarios, irrespective of the historical inequalities. However, in both senses, the word ‘caste’ functions, as an anti-social spirit protecting its own interests.

Annihilation of Caste: The Best Solution? (Part - I)

(This is the first part of a two-part article. Second part will be coming soon.)

“...Turn in any direction you like, caste is the monster that crosses your path. You cannot have political reform, you cannot have economic reform, unless you kill this monster.”

-         Dr. B.R. Ambedkar

Introduction

Some of the profound issues of caste discrimination were raised for the first time by Dr. Ambedkar in his undelivered presidential speech “Annihilation of Caste”. The speech was prepared for the annual conference of the Jat-Pat Todak Mandal, a society for abolition of caste system, at Lahore. Prior to the date of the conference, Dr. Ambedkar wrote the speech and sent it to the anti-caste organization to enable them to print and distribute the same. The Mandal insisted on deletion of some passages of the speech, however, Dr. Ambedker declared that he "would not alter a comma”. The conference was withdrawn owing to the “unbearable” views expressed in the speech. In May 1936 Dr. Ambedkar self-published and distributed 1,500 copies of the text. The second edition includes a preface; a prologue, including the correspondence between him and the Mandal; and two appendices, which includes Mahatma Gandhi's review, “A Vindication of Caste” and Dr. Ambedkar's reply to Mahatma Gandhi.

Critical Review of the Lokpal and Lokayuktha Bill, 2011

Corruption is a malevolent practice that has to be dealt with very strictly, but  India is one of the most corrupt nations on the globe. Corruption has been a part of the society since the beginning. The fundamental idea of lokpal is borrowed from ombudsman, which has proved to be very effective in keeping a check against corruption.

The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act is perhaps the main enactment ever, which has been so broadly talked about, both inside and outside Parliament. Thus, generated so much awareness in the public regarding the need to have an effective organization of Lokpal to handle corruption. However, the act passed hitherto is verbose, loaded with negatives and has various cross references.

Buy Back of Shares by Private or Unlisted Company

The provisions relating to buy-back of securities, under the Companies Act 2013 namely sections 68 to 70, which have been notified, have now repealed the provisions relating Companies Act, 1956.

Points to be noted:

1. A company may buy-back its own shares or other specified securities out of—

             (i) its free reserves; or

             (ii) the securities premium account; or

            (iii) the proceeds of any shares or other specified securities: