Death will come for you: Will Makeing and Estate Planning for NRIs

Money worth 18 billion Dollars is lying unclaimed in Indian accounts. That might include yours in the future. You will be a part of this 2 lakh crore rupees sitting in Indian banks and investment accounts,  forgotten, or untraceable, or locked because of poor planning. And all this boils down to .. a simple piece of paper, called a Will. 

Due to lack of a legal will, Indian banks have unclaimed money lying around. About $10 billion dollars worth of rupees in shares, 1 billion in EPF, 2 billion in life insurance, and .3 billion in mutual funds. 

If you’re an NRI with money or property in India, you need to create a Will. 

It doesn’t matter whether you’re 35 or 65. If something were to happen to you or your parents tomorrow, your family would be stuck in a bureaucratic nightmare—tareekh pe tareekh, running between banks, courts, and relatives just to access what’s already rightfully yours.

And no, being a nominee doesn’t solve this.

I am not even scaring you. This is the reality for millions of people every year, and it gets even messier for NRIs because you're trying to inherit a home, while sitting across the planet.

So today, we’re going deep into the world of wills and estate planning for NRIs. 

By the end of this video, you’ll know: Why NRI estate planning is 5x more complicated than for residents, the painful costs of not writing a will, and how to finally get this done—without waiting for your next India trip.

What NRIs Get Wrong About Wills

A will is even more important for NRIs because you are dealing with three major issues that Indians don't have to deal with.

One is remote jurisdictions. Idhar ka judge can’t give a ruling for the other country. 

Second is dealing with two country laws which means different inheritance laws. 

And third is money Repatriation– you can’t take all your money at once, since you have a yearly limit. You might think you’ll just let that india home be, but nope– it’s very difficult to manage it remotely so you might have to sell.   

This is the NRI pain. Added to it, there are a few myths we need to bust: The biggest MYTH is people believe—I am my dad’s nominee, so I’m good. Wrong.

Access to money is not ownership of money.

Just because you are a nominee in your fathers bank doesn't mean you will get the money on his passing. That money still legally belongs to the heirs, unless?  There’s a will. If you have your dads password and you empty his account after he passes, it’s illegal. The other heirs can take you to court.

Myth #2: “I can write one will for all my global assets.” No. Let’s say you live in Australia and you have: a retirement account there and an apartment and FDs in India. You write one will in australia. But Indian courts will demand – first prove the will in an Australian court. Then bring it to India. Then prove it again here before any asset transfer happens.

It’s smarter to write two separate wills—one for foreign assets and one for Indian assets. That way, the paperwork runs parallel in both countries when the time comes.

Myth #3: “I’ll do it when I go to India next.”. No, don't.  You don’t need to wait. You can do it online. 

Now What Happens If your parents die Without a Will  

 A U.S. citizen Amit lost both his parents in India. He flew down to take care of selling their home , thinking it would be just a few signatures and some paperwork. But what followed was six months just trying to locate old documents—just locate. He went through cupboards, sorting through faded papers, hunting down account numbers and property deeds. Every day was a new queue: banks then at the courts then sub-registrar offices. He had to apply for succession certificates, get the family tree drawn up, and chase down no-objection letters from every legal heir. And even after all that—after pouring in time, money, and energy—he still didn’t have access to everything. This had other effects. His office adjusted but reluctantly. His promo didn’t happen. He couldn't get more leaves and had to go unpaid. He lost a lot of money in the up and down, all this because that one piece of paper which is the Will, a mere wishlist, wasn’t done. 

Now let's say god forbid your parents pass away, what is the post demise process? I spoke to Nikhil, the co-founder of getyellow.in and he explained the process to me, especially if the will isn’t written. 

First, you need to collect basic documents of your parents—death certificate, Aadhaar, PAN. 

Then begins the detective work. You have to figure out what they owned. So you’re opening cupboards, flipping through old passbooks, checking emails, wondering if there's an account or locker you missed. And because you're an NRI, you don’t have the time to visit ten different banks. NRIs often hire agents—some of whom charge a whopping 20-25% of the asset value.

Then comes the legal part: proving who the rightful heirs are. Parents decide through the will, who inherits the house—whether that’s you or your brother or sister or even a charity. But if they don’t have a will, then their or your wishes don’t matter. The government steps in and decides for you. So what’s the problem with that?

Succession laws in India are more than a hundred years old and are based on your gender and religion.

So, for example, if you're a Hindu man and you pass away without a will, your assets will be divided equally between your wife, children, and your mother. Now think, what if your wife and mom don’t get along? Or if you are a widowed hindu woman without children– your personal assets can be given to your in-laws first, and not your parents. 

This might completely misalign with your wishes. Maybe you want everything to go to your parents. Too bad—without a will, the law wins.  

If life doesn't kill you anyway, Without a will, the paperwork will kill you. You need a no-objection certificate from family members that you might not like– for example a friend of mine, her dads sister is in norway and refusing to sign a no objection certificate. And that’s where the complications begin—because all it takes is one person to delay. Suddenly, distant relatives start showing up, ki issmein mera bhi hissa hai. It is so common to see Siblings who once got along start fighting. Properties then get locked up in legal limbo.

What begins as an emotional loss quietly snowballs into full-blown financial warfare.

Even if you’re the only child, you need certificates—succession certificate, legal heir certificate. Different banks ask for different paperwork. For example, documentation required for a Mutual fund worth 50,000 will vary from a mutual fund worth 500,000 and can vary from one mutual fund to another.

Finally, once you’re done with proving you are the rightful owner, you still have to get it in hand right. So for transferring you have to visit each place in person—the sub-registrar for property, the bank for fixed deposits, the fund house for mutual funds. And if there’s no nominee listed, it gets even slower.  

This entire process can take years for NRIs. And all of it—all of it—could have been avoided if a simple, clear will had been made.

With a Will <show list on fingers> you don’t have to waste time searching through cupboards. You don’t worry about missing an asset. You don’t have to go to court to prove who the family members are.  The will makes it easier for banks and govt to release the money or property as the will itself is the proof.

 Convincing parents

Let’s address the elephant in the room, how do you even bring the topic up with parents? Parents might say “You’re just waiting for us to die?”. Here are the top reasons in India, why parents don’t want to do a will. The top most surprising reason is “I don't want people to know what I have”. Many people think it will invite trouble and prefer to keep it a secret. That makes it worse and not better. 

Second reason is superstition– writing down about your death is inviting yamraj. And the third reason is simply “I don't care. I'll be dead anyway. Let the kids fight it out”. Also many people don’t want to deal with lawyers or courts, thinking good families don’t go there, which makes online platforms the need of the hour.

To convince your parents, first Start with yourself.

Make your own will. Go through the process. Show them how easy it was. Talk about struggles a family friend might have gone through. 

Then have the real conversation like,
“Look, I’m not asking for your money. But if something happens to you, I don’t want to fly to India and spend 6 months in court trying to figure things out. Even if you want to donate everything to charity, just write it down so we can honor your wishes.”  

Then help your parents Simplify their portfolio, Make a Will and also Organize key documents.

 

So how do you actually write a will?

Step 1: List all your assets–either physically by hand or online with apps like Yellow. List your Bank accounts, real estate, insurance policies, jewellery, even family heirlooms. You just need identifiers so the family knows what to chase and where. No values or passwords are needed. For eg. My HDFC a/c number so and so and Apartment No 420 in Raheja Gardens.  Put it in a doc. 

Step 2: Decide who gets what in the form of %, with their name next to it. 

Step 3: Get it signed by you, and signed by two witnesses. 

Step 4: though it sounds trivial, Tell your family where you are physically keeping it. A will no one knows about, is as bad as no will at all. Also fun tip - don't store it in a bank locker because you need a wIll to open the bank locker! Catch 22 hai yeh.

Do you have kaleshi relatives?  Here are a few tips for you. 

Add a Letter of Intent. If you're doing unequal distribution, explain why. “I gave more to my daughter because she’s a single mom and my son is settled.” This can prevent a lot of family drama later.

Then, you can have a doctors certificate for the date of signing the Will, proving you are physically and mentally fit. You could also record a video of your Will to avoid future litigations on the ground of forgery or coercion.

OUTRO — Final Call to Action 

If you’re an NRI, don’t wait for a health scare or a family death. You have GOT TO TAKE THIS seriously. And remember: A will is not just for old people. Anyone 28+years old with a stable job should start thinking about estate planning.

Start your will today.

 I’m Nupur Dave, and I help NRIs navigate careers, finance, and life transitions—so you don’t just survive, you thrive.