A significant challenge persists in Nigeria concerning estate planning: both middle-aged and older generations, and increasingly young Nigerians, frequently fail to write wills or properly inform their next of kin about their investments. This issue has taken on new dimensions with the rapid growth of the fintech sector, which offers numerous investment opportunities to young people.

A recent poll conducted by Technext underscores the severity of this problem among young Nigerians. The survey, which focused on individuals aged 23 to 35 who have completed their national youth service, revealed that a staggering 97% do not possess a will, with only 3% having one. Despite this, 60.6% of these young adults are actively engaged in savings or investment plans through fintech platforms, including cryptocurrencies and NFTs. While 78.8% of participants reported having a next of kin, a concerning 63.6% admitted that their designated next of kin were not aware of all their savings and investment plans. This trend suggests a potential repetition of financial succession issues faced by previous generations, even as the Nigerian fintech industry projects a rise to $543.3 million this year.

The legal framework surrounding inheritance in Nigeria further complicates matters. Under Nigerian law, particularly concerning intestate succession, the concept of 'next of kin' as commonly understood by the public is largely erroneous. As legal expert O. G. Chukkol clarifies, a person named as 'next of kin' in financial documents or at a workplace does not automatically become an heir. Instead, the law imposes heirs based on the applicable legal system – be it customary law, Islamic law, English law, or the Administration of Estates Law. For instance, if a marriage was contracted under the Marriage Act, customary law is excluded, and succession follows English law or the Administration of Estates Law, with surviving spouses and children typically being the statutory heirs. Chukkol emphasizes that a 'next of kin' primarily serves as a first point of contact for emergencies, authorized to make decisions when an individual is unavailable, provide necessary information, or give medical consent, but not to inherit wealth unless explicitly named as a beneficiary in a valid will.

The Central Bank of Nigeria's (CBN) policy on dormant accounts also contributes to the challenge. The CBN classifies an account as dormant if there are no customer-initiated transactions for one year. Crucially, the CBN's provisions do not compel financial institutions to actively reach out to the next of kin of dormant account holders. This means that if a customer dies without informing their family of their accounts, the financial institution is left to manage the assets according to its internal policies, often favoring the institution over the deceased's family. In response to this, Philip Nnannah, a general partner at Philip, Witte, and Alu Solicitors and Advocates, called for a sweeping CBN policy that would mandate financial institutions to contact next of kin for dormant accounts, especially those containing funds.

Fintech companies, despite their role in democratizing investment, are largely ill-equipped to handle the transfer of assets to next of kin. A Technext survey of major fintech players revealed a varied and often inadequate approach. For example, CowryWise stated it would first contact the customer for a dormant account and only then reach out to the next of kin if no response is received after a year. PiggyVest's website suggests it would contact next of kin after a