Will preparation

• A person who has assets and desire those assets to be inherited by certain specific persons, can write a Will;
• He/She should be a Major i.e. 18 years of age or more;
• Should have a sound disposing mind &
• Should not otherwise be debarred from making a Will by any competent authority.

• A Will is the best way for you to ensure the distribution of your assets to the beneficiaries, whom you desire the assets to be given, including the extent thereof.
• It is not about the value of assets you have, it is to ensure that your assets are passed on to your next generation /beneficiaries hassle free.
• A Will can also be used to appoint a guardian to look after children until they attain maturity or age of 18 years. In case the child / children is/are mentally unstable, the guardian needs to be appointed even if the child / children is / are above 18 years of age.
• A Will also allows you to choose a person to manage the distribution of your assets. This person is called the Executor.
• A Will eliminates /reduces the intervention of judicial process /third party intervention for the distribution of the assets upon the demise of the Testator.

• All necessary identifiers of the Testator should be mentioned in the Will. This includes but not limited to Name, Age, Religion, Address etc.
• A declaration made by Testator to the effect that the present Will is his/her last Will and all other earlier Wills and Codicils are hereby revoked.
• Clear information about who are the beneficiaries and what is their relationship with the Testator as well as what assets will be given in what proportion to which beneficiary.
• Specific special clauses which will make a specific beneficiary eligible or non-eligible to inherit the share of the assets of the person (Testator) and conditions, qualifications for the same.
• Mention about the Will to take effect after the death of the Testator and if necessary, also mention about who will be responsible for the execution of the Will (Executor’s name).
• A Will must be attested by minimum two persons as witnesses who shall put their signatures in presence of the Testator and the Testator should sign the Will in the presence of the witnesses. Beneficiaries cannot be the witness.

• Will can be modified or altered at any time and any number of times by the Testator during his life time.
• Will is revocable during the lifetime of the Testator. As long as a Testator is living, he may, at any moment, cancel his Will and make a totally different disposition of his properties.

• Testator is the person who declares his wish in the Will regarding the disposal of his properties after his / her demise.
• Executor/s is/are appointed by the Testator, to ensure that the assets are distributed as desired by him/her in the Will. (Optional)
• beneficiary/ies is/are the person/s to whom the benefits are passed through the Will.
• Witnesses – 02 (Two)

A Nominee is a Trustee (or custodian) as per law. Nominee may or may not be the Beneficiary to receive the assets of the deceased. To avoid disputes, it is advisable to write a Will in order to make a comprehensive note of all the assets as well as providing a clear indication about allocation of assets to the beneficiaries. It reduces the hassle of paper work for beneficiaries / legal heirs and avoids the instance of any future dispute over the assets.

It is also advisable to make nomination of securities in accordance with the Will. Both, Nomination and executing a Will are very important. Transfer of assets to the Nominee gives discharge to the creditor / custodian. For e.g.: in the case of a Bank where it is the creditor / custodian of fixed deposits made by the Testator, upon release of the FD to the Nominee the Bank shall stand discharged.

Where you think that the Will written by you is likely to be challenged by any person, the Testator may like to exercise the following additional precautions:

• A Will should be prepared through a trusted Advisor.
• The Will is witnessed by 2 (two) witnesses as per law.
• The choice of the witnesses should be good and credible.
• Process of the writing, executing and witnessing the Will is duly video graphed. A video recording of the Will is admissible by way of evidence.
• The Will may be registered with the Sub-Registrar of Assurances.

A Nominee is the custodian of the assets belonging to the deceased. Wherever a nominee is appointed, assets of the deceased go in the hands of the nominee. A nominee may or may not be the beneficiary and this can be determined by what is mentioned in the Will. Any creditor or custodian who handovers / transfers the assets to the Nominee is legally discharged of the obligations. Lack of this information can often lead to legal disputes which can be avoided by executing a Will.

Please ensure that for your Bank Accounts, Fixed Deposits Shares, Demat Accounts, Provident Fund, Mutual Funds, you have taken appropriate steps to appoint nominee(s). If the nominee(s) is/are not appointed, upon the demise of the person, several legal complications may arise. Moreover, the beneficiaries will be compelled to obtain Succession Certificate /

Probate

Anyone who is /are above 18 years of age and of sound mind and capable to enter into a Contract, can be appointed as an Executor/s to the Will. One can appoint multiple Executors, one as a primary executor and others as alternate executors.

The Testator has the option to appoint any of his relatives or friends as Executor and mention it in the Will Document.

If the Testator chooses to appoint a professional agency as an Executor, these services are separately availed and paid for as per the terms of the agency who is appointed as an Executor. “Warmond Trustees and Executors Private Limited” also accept Executorship. For this purpose, you are requested to send an email to Ms. Nisha Khurana – nisha_khurana@warmond.co.in

It is a common problem as to who should be given the custody of the Will so that someone may take the required action to handle and distribute the estate to the beneficiaries. There are several cases where Will is found in lockers and a great deal of time is lost in even locating the Will upon the demise of the person. Professional Executor can keep the custody of the Will and take the desired actions at the right time.

Professional Executor will have strong legal expertise and can act on your behalf to administer your Will in an independent, efficient and professional manner. We gather all the information required to facilitate in identifying and gathering all your assets and administering your estate as per your Will, thereby assisting your family and making the process less stressful for them. Process can be fairly cumbersome and it is important to go with an institution that will be able to guide through these trying times and regulatory framework. Dealing with an institution also ensures longevity and continuity.

The Will request made through the EzeeWill portal is processed and Will is prepared by a lawyer from the expert lawyer panel of Warmond. In addition, Warmond also provides the services of Executor on a professional basis.

• Act as an Executor
• Keeping safe custody of the Will
• Identifying assets of the deceased
• Applying for and obtaining the

  Probate

  , Letters of Administration
• Act as a Trustee
• Paying debt, duties and expenses
• Assist in preparing tax returns
• Assist in protecting business interests
• Collecting any monies due

Registration of a Will is not mandatory. However, it is advisable to register the Will at the Sub Registrar office to add to its authenticity.

There is no stamp duty payable on Registration of the Will. However, applicable registration charges have to be paid, in addition to any legal services fees for registration of the Will document.

Warmond provides the services towards registration of a Will. This service is separately charged. If you wish to avail of these services, you are requested to send an email to Ms. Nisha Khurana – nisha_khurana@warmond.co.in

A joint will cannot be prepared through EzeeWill due to the following reasons:

Two Individuals holding property (ies) jointly, e.g. husband and wife, have 50% equal rights in them.

Both husband and wife can Will only their individual 50% share in the property (ies) to their chosen beneficiaries.

Preparing a joint Will is not recommended since it is multiple Wills in one document and can be revoked by either of the testators during their lifetime. The Will can also be revoked by the surviving testator thus raising complexities during its execution.

It is recommended that each individual, e.g. husband and wife, prepare separate Will’s for the jointly held property (ies) / assets.

Yes. Both, a registered Will and an unregistered Will of a deceased Testator can be challenged in the Court under the following conditions:

1. The Testator was not of sound mind when making the Will;
   
2. The Will was prepared under coercion, undue influence, fraud, by mistake or by misrepresentation; and
   
3. Not made out of free will of the Testator.
   

To rule out the above conditions, the following is recommended:

• Video recording of the Will, on the date of execution i.e. (Testator & witness signing the Will);
• Registration, of the Will should be registered at the Sub Registrar’s office to add to its authenticity;
• Appoint an executor: A person 18 years and above of age, of sound mind and capable to contract, can be appointed as an executor to the Will. Multiple Executors can be appointed, one as the primary Executor and other’s as alternate Executors.
• Professional Executor: Professional Executor will have strong legal expertise and can act on your behalf to administer your Will in an independent, efficient and professional manner. It brings the advantage of having one's estate administered by an experienced expert, but also incurs fees which must be paid out of the estate. They gather all the information required to facilitate in identifying and gathering all your assets and administering your estate as per your Will, thereby assisting your family and making the process less stressful for them. Process can be fairly cumbersome and it is important to go with an institution that will be able to guide through these trying times and regulatory framework. Dealing with an institution also ensures longevity and continuity.

  Please Note: Warmond provides Executorship Services & Registration services to the Will and assists in registering the Will at the Sub Registrar office.

Probate is necessary in the erstwhile presidency towns of Bombay (now Mumbai), Calcutta (now Kolkata) and Madras (now Chennai).

Probate can be taken on both registered Will and an un-registered Will.

Contingent Beneficiary is a person or other legal entity designated to receive a benefit in case the primary beneficiary is not in existence, such person or legal entity is known as Contingent beneficiary.

On EzeeWill Portal, we have a Tab named “Contingent Beneficiary” where a testator can mention the contingent beneficiary for each of his / her primary beneficiary of his / her assets.

Muslims are mainly governed by their personal laws i.e. Shariah in respect to Will and inheritance, and only certain part of general succession law in India, known as Indian Succession applies to them.

Under the Shariah, a testator is bound to bequeath only 1/3rd of his/her share of the assets to the beneficiary and the remaining 2/3rd share is compulsorily distributable to his/her successors, else the Will shall be void.

Those persons to whom the Testator does not wish to give any benefits and specifically mention so as to exclude them under the Will, are the non-beneficiaries.

Non-beneficiaries can be any one such as your parents, spouse, Children and grandchildren, other relatives, Friends, Organizations, trusts, Charities, Pets etc.