Covid breaks will, forces many to make final plans

NEW DELHI: The increasing mortality in the current wave of Covid-19 infections has created a sense of apprehension, prompting people to think about their last wills and testaments. Keeping their children in mind, many of them minors, Delhiites have been consulting lawyers on wills. To encourage this important familial responsibility, some lawyers are also providing their service for free.
Lawyer Sanhita Dasgupta shared her willingness to help families draft wills on social media and been getting a steady stream of callers. “People die without making wills, and often fights and questions on how assets should be divided follow,” said Dasgupta, who is helped by her lawyer brother and sister-in-law. “The pandemic has created a huge concern among people. There have been cases when minors have been affected because they are left with no guardians to take care of them till they reach 18. Children are the most affected in cases where no wills exist.”
The lawyer explains to people, a lot of them belonging to the middle class, who can be the witness signing the will. “But the registry is closed due to the lockdown, and there are restrictions too,” Dasgupta pointed out. “So, I have been telling people to prepare a video recording alongside the written will and kept it in a safe place.”
Advocate Abhay Pandey has, in the past few weeks, helped around 12 people with the format of the will. “Many people have called to find out how to prepare their wills. With Covid so intense, people are realising that there is no certainty to life,” said Pandey. “There are families that are traumatised, especially those with children. That is why I have been helping people in whatever way I can.”
Tarun Chaudhary of Legal Service India.com, a company that offers professional help in drafting wills, said, “With this surge in infections, the number of people wanting to draft wills has gone up a lot. You can easily say thousands have got in touch with us from across the country. And, significantly, even people in their late 20s want to prepare their wills.”