Who remembers this nursery school rhyme.
Old Roger is dead and gone to his grave, H’m, ha! gone to his grave. They planted an apple tree over his head. H’m, ha! over his head
The apple grew ripe and ready to drop, H’m, ha! ready to drop. There came a high wind and blew them all off, H’m, ha! blew them all off
There came an old woman to pick them all up. H’m, ha! pick them all up.
Old Roger got up and gave her a knock, H’m, ha! gave her a knock. Which made the old woman go hipperty-hop, H’m, ha! hipperty hop.
Many years later, I began to analyse this poem from a legal perspective
Old Roger represents a man who lived, acquired property, built assets but refused to make a Will.
The apple tree? That’s his estate: land, houses, money, investments, businesses.
At first, everything looks fine. The apples grow. They ripen. They are ready to drop.
But then there came a high wind and blew them all off.” That high wind is death without a Will. No structure. No direction. No instructions.
Once that wind blows, everyone rushes in.“There came an old woman to pick them all up.” Relatives. In-laws. Strangers. Opportunists. Administrators. Court processes. Family fights.
And then the real trouble begins. “Old Roger got up and gave her a knock… Which made the old woman go hipperty-hop.”
Litigation. Disputes. Police cases. Court battles. Families hopping from one courtroom to another.
Assets are tied down for years. Some lost forever. Old Roger is gone, but his silence while alive keeps causing chaos after his death.
So what is the legal Lesson in this poem:
If you don’t decide what happens to your estate, the law will decide for you and the law has no emotions.
Making a Will is not about death.
It’s about peace, clarity, and protecting the people you leave behind.
