Money Masterclass | Where there is a ‘Will’, there is a way

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Having a Will is essential for just about everyone, especially during these trying times. A Will is not for just the rich and wealthy. However, there are many good reasons to have a Will. A Will is a legal document that sets forth your wishes regarding the distribution of your property and assets.

Money9’s Krishnakumar talks to Dr Sujay Kantawala, senior lawyer, on why should one make a Will. Edited excerpts:

The entire idea of writing a Will is a pretty difficult topic to approach, but the importance of Will has gone up, isn’t it?

Yes. In fact, there is a serious resistance by people to execute their own Will. I have faced it myself. My mother was a lawyer. Post 50, when she started suffering from health issues, I requested my mother that we make a Will so that everything is distributed.

But there was resistance and that resistance continued till she passed. She never executed a Will.

Fortunately, there was an MOU, family arrangement, so there was no litigation in part. When I wanted to transfer the immovable assets to my name, the NOC proved helpful. Normally a society would ask for probate. Therefore, I feel that Will is a must.

In the good old days when there wasn’t any Covid, 50 was the right age to execute your Will. But now, in view of these stressful times, any person with some reasonable assets, mainly immovable, should execute their Will. 25-30 age bracket suits well nowadays. And you really don’t need a lawyer, unless your Will is complicated.

2. It is important to register the Will at the registrar’s office but in case you don’t register the Will, is it legally tenable?

Of course not. Everyone can’t register their Will. It’s just a formality, but a necessary formality.

In case you want to be completely sure then you can register it formally. And if something has to go in court, it will go in court. For example, there are a lot of societies that insist on probate. So even though you have registered your Will they will want probate. Probate is when you get the seal of approval of the competent court.

So what happens is that in lots of societies, these laws keep on changing from state to state. Sometimes they are fine with the nomination and sometimes they insist on probate. But registration would avoid a lot of technical hitches of a challenge to your Will.

But it is not the end. A Will is a valid document as long as you follow the basic rules like you have signed the Will in the presence of two independent witnesses, who are not the beneficiaries. This is known as executing the Will.

To be on the safe side, you can also record this whole process.

3. Is it important to put nominations as the money can get stuck if there is a sudden demise and there is no nomination?

In my opinion, for all financial instruments which are governed by the Companies Act, it’s mandatory to have a nomination. The financial institution or the fund house will recognize the nomination.

4. What is the right age for the execution of Will?

The right time is now. If you haven’t done it yet then do it now. Post 25, every second is the right time to execute the Will.

If you want to knock off any of the beneficiaries then you can always execute a fresh Will. You can always change the beneficiaries. Your last Will speaks about your intention after your demise.

Watch the full video here: