Estate planning for NRIs

As we all know that life is so uncertain that we cannot ignore the importance of having a Will..

Though not mandatory but it is advisable to get your will registered. Its high time that one must stop delaying to have a Will in place. There are certain aspects in which NRIs (Non-Resident Indians) face issues while dealing with estate planning. This is due to the lack of awareness regarding the tax laws and legal processes that are prevailing in India or even they don’t have a clue on whom to contact to get it all done. As NRI visit India for a limited period, it becomes challenging for them to get it all done in such a small time frame.

What is a Will? A Will is a document which, if registered, is considered in the court of law a valid legal document, wherein a person writing a Will expresses his wish on how to distribute the assets post his/her death. For NRIs, writing a Will becomes even more crucial as they often hold assets in multiple global jurisdictions apart from India.

Will makes the task of the legal heirs easier. Being an NRI, it becomes difficult for the family members to locate the assets and inherit them. So, Will, in this case, makes their task easier as all the details such as contact number of the legal advisor, financial planner, estate planner, relationship manager, stock broker, etc. are available in the Will itself. This makes it easier for the execution of the Will.

However, while writing a will it is important to understand that you need to check the succession law of the country in which such asset is present. Though for this you don’t need to prepare separate Will for each jurisdiction. You can make a single Will as per the respective local succession law in which you have assets. The only exception to this case is UAE as you need to have a separate Will registered with DIFC DPR (Dubai International Financial Centre, Data Protection Regulations) for assets in that country.

Jaihind

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