In the last three decades, the Indian Diaspora population has been rising significantly. The people of India have grown to be a lot more mobile than in the past and they have been moving to various places around the globe. However, it has been found that the majority of the NRI population has spread to countries like USA, Canada, Singapore, Dubai, Australia and Hong Kong. India being an alluring destination for investing along with the urge of NRIs to have their own home in India has led to NRIs having properties in diverse places. But, managing cross-border assets is not an easy task and comes with its own challenges.<\/p>\n
Amongst the major challenges faced by the NRIs is that how to execute a seamless transfer of such assets. Will, is one of the basic necessities of estate planning must be written for the seamless inheritance of property by NRI<\/a>. When a person is writing a Will, a question usually crops up in the mind of NRIs is whether they should make separate Wills \u2013 one for their offshore assets and one for their assets in India?<\/p>\n There is no standard answer to this question and an NRI person must take into account all the upsides and downsides of having concurrent Wills or one Will prior to arriving at a decision.<\/p>\n What are the Challenges Faced by NRIs if They Write a Single Will?<\/strong><\/p>\n Here are a few challenges that an NRI can face if he\/she makes a single Will:<\/p>\n \u2022 When the time comes to executing the Will, it firstly needs to be probated in India and the NRI needs to apply for an ancillary Probate in India.<\/p>\n \u2022 The process of Probate in a lot of offshore jurisdictions does not come to an end until the person gets the ancillary Probate in the other country (In case of NRIs- it means India).<\/p>\n \u2022 In case the Will was executed in a foreign country, it is required to qualify in India, as well. Furthermore, it must fulfill all the conditions of succession in India. If they fail to meet the Indian law requirements, then it can result in a number of uncalled complications.<\/p>\n \u2022 In India, the time it takes and the court fee involved for getting a Probate ranges between a period of 6 months to a couple of years and the fee ranges between Rs. 50,000 to a higher of 8.75% in particular Indian states. Therefore, in case there is any kind of delay in getting a Probate, it can further delay the process of getting a complete access to the assets of the departed one.<\/p>\n What are the Challenges Faced by NRIs if They Write Concurrent Wills?<\/strong><\/p>\n If an NRI chooses to go for separate Wills \u2013 one for the estates in India and one for the offshore estates then, here are few challenges faced by NRIs:<\/p>\n \u2022 One needs to incur an added cost of drafting the Will in both the jurisdictions and they need to confer with numerous attorneys or estate consultants.<\/p>\n \u2022 It can get confusing to keep multiple Wills given the fact that if not correctly planned, it may result in a load of confusion and complication amongst the legal heirs.<\/p>\n Even though there isn\u2019t any straightforward answer, however, when it comes to NRIs \u2013 to stay away from any kind of issues or confusion and to make sure that the delay in legal matters in India does not have any impact on getting full access to the assets of the deceased person \u2013 it is better for an NRI to have separate Wills.<\/p>\n Nevertheless, it can differ from case to case and if you are seeking a reliable NRI law firm<\/strong><\/a> to help you out with drafting a Will, your search ends at NRI Legal World. For detailed information on NRI Wills, get in touch with us at +91 85-85-85-71-71 or email at info@nrilegalworld.com.<\/p>\n