The fear of coronavirus, the inevitability of death and the security of one’s family has made even the young draw up their wills, something that an average Indian did not even think about until in his late 50s. Civil lawyers in the national Capital told India Today TV how they are witnessing a new trend during the lockdown, of the young drafting their will.
Young professionals and entrepreneurs want to leave nothing to chance and be prepared for the inevitable perils of the novel coronavirus. A 40-year-old Delhiite, who works at a private firm in Gurgaon, said that he decided to do so after someone he knows succumbed to coronavirus.
“I feel unsafe now. This disease is so unpredictable and we have to go out, anyway. Be it to buy groceries or to work. So, to safeguard the interests of my wife, my kid and my parents, I chose to draw up a will during the lockdown,” he said.
Similarly, a 31-year-old businessman from Delhi, married and a father to a 9-month-old, said he fears getting infected by coronavirus. “You never know what will happen tomorrow. We are taking all kinds of measures to stay safe but how do we protect ourselves from asymptomatic carriers? So, to at least protect my legal heir,” he said.
Kapil Gupta, a civil lawyer who specialises in property litigation, says he has had at least 30 people of the age group of contact him within the last 50 days to have a will drafted. “Out of these 30 people, 15 people were aged between 30 and 40 years old. Earlier, I used to have people aged above 60 to get their will drafted but Covid-19 has changed that.”
Surprisingly, Gupta, who is a lawyer himself, got his will drafted when he saw the young thinking in that direction. “I am only 35 but when I saw so many young men approach me to get their will drafted, it got me thinking about the uncertainty of the pandemic,” Gupta added.
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