Will or Nomination? are they both required or is any one of the them good enough to transfer the deceased amount to the legal heirs

POSTED BY Swapneel S ON February 19, 2012 3:48 pm COMMENTS (3)

I would like to ask a general question for multiple financial instruments. Basically the concern is to have a hassel free transfer of money from deceased to legal heirs in case of the death of the deceased.
1. Is it ok to have a WILL and not have a Nomination?
OR
2. Is it ok to have Nominations for all financial instruments and then not have a WILL?
OR
3. Are both Nominations and WILL equally important to have.

Thanks,
Swapneel.

3 replies on this article “Will or Nomination? are they both required or is any one of the them good enough to transfer the deceased amount to the legal heirs”

  1. ashal jauhari says:
    February 20, 2012 at 7:10 am

    Dear Swapneel, WILL & nominations are not interchangeable. Will is meant to determine the person to whom you want to give your assets, investments in your absence. Nomination is merely for getting hassle free custody of the assets or investments which ‘ll ultimately go to the actual recipients of your choice.

    If there is no WILL, it’s a sure shot way to make life miserable for your loved ones in your absence.

    Please nominate in each of your investments & make a WILL today.

    Thanks

    Ashal

    Reply
  2. Manish Chauhan says:
    February 19, 2012 at 11:00 pm

    Let me answer all your points

    1. No , Its not OK to have just WILL and no nomination . WILL is for smooth transfer of assets from Nominee to the Actual person whom you want to give the asset . Nomination is for smooth transfer from the bank/institution to the person whom you want it to recieve .. Note that the nomination is just like you are saying to company “When I die, please call person X and tell him to collect the policy money or whatever from you” . Creating a WILL is saying that “This asset should FINALLY go to person Y” , here person X and Y can be same and different as you choose .

    2. Better not do it, because if there is no WILL , then the asset will finally go to the legal heir (other than shares) . So if your nominee is your friend , and your wife is also there , then incase WILL is not there , wife can claim all the money from your friend. But if in the WILL you have mentioned that the money should go to your friend, then your WIFE can not claim it .

    3. Yes, both have different purpose .

    Manish

    3.

    Reply
  3. BanyanFA says:
    February 19, 2012 at 4:04 pm

    Hi Swapneel,
    This is a very interesting question and mostly confused as well.

    There is no replacement of a Will. Will overrides Nominations. If you have a nomination in all your financial accounts, it eases up the process of allowing your nominees to get the funds from the respective bank, but they still act as guardians of the funds for the legal heirs. Legal Heirs are mentioned only in the will. If in a situation there is no Will, then the Legal Heirs are determined by Law of Succession – which at times can be a very painful process.

    Regards
    BFA

    Reply

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