Will Services

A will is a testamentary legal document. It is a written declaration by a person about his wishes for all the matters such as apportioning his/her assets, properties and wealth to family, relatives, outsiders, charities etc. after their death. It is to be made in the presence of two witnesses.

It ensures that all your properties and assets are distributed and disposed of as per your wishes after your death.

It avoids disputes or legal interference in the family.

Will is the only effective document to ensure that your property goes to the person of your choice.

When you die without writing a Will all your assets, properties and wealth is distributed as per applicable laws. Succession laws have fixed share to allocate properties to several family members which may not be as per your wishes. In such cases, delay in distribution of properties is common and may lead to disputes.

Any person above the age of 18 can make a Will with sound mind i.e., capable of understanding his actions and is free from any undue influences.

You may need following information for making a will:

a rough inventory of your property

a list of beneficiaries

a list of alternate beneficiaries (second priority), if any.

a list of your first and second choices for guardian for your children

a list of your first and second choices for executor

We shall give the completed will to you after you have signed it and witnessed by two witnesses provided by us. Store this original document in a safe place, such as a bank safety box.

It’s fine to give a copy of your will to your executor or other loved ones for informational purposes.

In addition to a will, you might consider making: a living trust (whose main advantage is to avoid probate court proceedings after your death) and a power of attorney (to allow a trusted person to arrange your affairs if you can’t).

It’s always fine to make a simple will but it is recommended to engage an expert for clear and unambiguous drafting.

Executor is a person who is appointed by the person making a Will to be authorized to take action on all the wishes as per the Will. Any person who is a beneficiary in the Will or any trusted person who can assist the family to act as per the Will, can be appointed as executor.

It is not mandatory to appoint an Executor, although it is recommended.

All single/joint properties, wealth, assets, receivables as well as all liabilities/loans, including movable, immovable and intangible properties and assets can be mentioned in the Will.

Yes, person owning any joint property is allowed to mention his wishes in the Will for his share in the Joint Property. It is necessary to mention about all joint property titles to avoid unnecessary disputes

Yes, ownership as a proprietor in a proprietorship firm or share owned in a company can be bequeathed by a Will. For share in partnership firm as a Partner is allowed to be bequeathed subject to conditions, if any, in the Partnership Deed.

One can bequeath pets, paintings, antiques, electronic items, furniture & fixtures, intellectual properties like Trademark, Patents, Copyrights, Licenses, Social Media Accounts, Personal Belongings, Books, etc.

Guardians can be nominated for minor children who are beneficiary in the Will, and such guardian will be responsible to look after the minor children and protect their share. Mostly, people create a Trust by way of Will for the benefit to all the legal heirs, friends, relatives or for charitable purpose.

A general clause is included in a Will for residual properties (miscellaneous assets that were missed) which specify should receive ‘residual assets’ and similarly a general clause is added for ‘all the future assets.

A person can make a new Will as many times as he wants or for few changes, he can also make Codicil which is a Supplementary to the main Will. However, it is necessary to mention in your Will that ‘This is the Last will and all past Wills, if any, to be treated as cancelled’ since only the last Will is legally valid.

Yes. However, properties situated in foreign countries are governed by local laws in those countries & the procedure to enforce Will in such countries would be different. Therefore, it is advisable to prepare two separate wills; one dealing with local properties and the other with properties in foreign countries. Such Wills are called as concurrent Wills and are treated independent of each other unless interlinked.

“Beneficiary” is a person to whom the properties are distributed or “bequeathed” under the will, i.e., a person who gets the benefit under the will. Any person, body, trust, charitable institute, society etc. can be a beneficiary under the will. A beneficiary under your will can be your family members, relatives, friends, servants, etc. and you can opt to give your properties in charity. However, Law has set-out procedure to be followed if you have close relatives and want to give all your properties and assets for charitable purpose.

One can cancel/revoke their Will at any point of time or even by making a fresh Will. Once a Will is made all the past/old Wills get cancelled. The will can be revoked by following ways: –

By execution of a subsequent Will;

By writing and declaring an intention to revoke the Will; and

By burning, tearing or otherwise destroying the Will.

Nominee is merely a trustee of the property and he/she is required to hand it over to the legal heir whereas beneficiary is the person entitled to receive the properties under the will.

If more than one will is made to dispose of properties in different countries, such wills are called concurrent wills. In such cases all the wills for such a purpose will be operative.