If you die today, the people you love the most may suffer not because you didn’t leave something behind, but because you didn’t leave it properly.
We don’t like to talk about death. But if you love your family, it’s not a conversation you can afford to avoid. You see, in Nigeria, most people think “Next of Kin” means “automatic beneficiary.” It doesn’t.
That name you filled in the bank form? It might mean absolutely nothing when the chips are down.
When you die, your so-called Next of Kin cannot just stroll into the bank and withdraw your money. Banks do not operate on sentiment. They operate on law. And unless your Next of Kin is a signatory to your account or you left a legal will they will be locked out.
And then begins the nightmare called Probate.
Probate is not a favor. It is a process. A long, exhausting, and often expensive legal tunnel that your family must crawl through just to access money you worked for. And by the time they’re done if they survive it at all a significant portion of that money will be gone, eaten up by court fees, legal fees, and bureaucratic bottlenecks.
Your children’s school fees? Delayed. Your spouse’s rent? Hanging. Medical bills? Unpaid.
But all this can be avoided.
The POD Form Payable On Death. Most banks won’t tell you about it unless you ask. But it is one of the greatest acts of love you can perform while alive. The POD Form allows you to name someone, anyone who will inherit the money in your account automatically, the moment you pass, with just a copy of your death certificate. No lawyers. No court sittings. No drawn-out process.
Just dignity. Simplicity. Peace.
We don’t like to talk about death. Understandably. But if you love your family, this is a conversation you must have even if silently, with yourself first.
So, let’s get real.
If you die today, your “Next of Kin” cannot walk into the bank and withdraw your money. Let that sink in.
In Nigeria and most parts of the world, your so-called Next of Kin is not a magic key. It is not a wand. It is not a right. It is not a guarantee. It is just a name on a form.
Your Next of Kin is not the automatic heir to your bank account. Your bank account doesn’t care who your favorite person is. It doesn’t care who you listed unless that person is a signatory or unless your will says so.
And if there’s no will? Then welcome to the chaos called Probate.
Probate is not just a word. It is a wall. A long, complicated, and expensive legal process where your family must prove, sometimes fight to claim what you thought you left behind for them. During this time, the bank freezes your money. Your children may be sent home from school. Your spouse may be stranded. Your aged parents may sleep hungry. And even after the probate is finally over, a chunk of your money will be gone paid as legal fees, court fees, and administrative costs.
All because you assumed that “Next of Kin” was enough.
But there is a way out.
Few Nigerians know this. Fewer use it. But it is one of the most powerful gifts you can leave behind.
Walk into your bank and ask for a POD Form. It allows you to legally name someone who will receive the money in your account the moment you die without probate, without delay, without drama. All they’ll need is your death certificate.
That’s it.
With a simple form, you can protect your loved ones from bureaucracy, from poverty, from pain that your silence may cause.
We don’t like to talk about death. But if you don’t make this decision now, someone you love will pay the price later.
You owe them peace.
Do the right thing.
Before it’s too late.
Walk into your bank. Ask for the POD Form. Fill it. Sign it. Let your family know. Do not assume. Do not delay. Do not wait.
Every day you postpone this is a day you risk leaving your loved ones vulnerable, helpless, and heartbroken not just by your death, but by the system you failed to prepare them for.
Because at the end of the day, love is not what you say it’s what you secure.
Let this be the part of you that lives on: not just in memory, but in provision.
Do it now.
For them.
Stephanie Shaakaa
08034861434
