[am1m]

My wife and I sit together every few months and give each other an overview of our updated investments and assets. Was awkward the first few times we did it, but now it's a smooth session. Passwords and online financial account details are also swapped. Since we like to keep things separate, and our investment strategies are very different (good I guess, for diversification) no joint accounts/investments for us.

I had a question about the tax implication of transferring bank deposits. Say I die first (and statistically the chances of that happening are higher), and my wife inherits whatever I have in FDs and MFs, will that be taxed on transfer or only after she gets it? (Thanks in advance for any information!)

Someone on this thread raised a good point about what to do in case both partners unfortunately die in the same mishap, possible, since most couples travel together. Never thought about that (since we don't have kids), but I would like to leave some of my assets to my nephew, but most to a few charities in that case. Will have to speak with a lawyer, I guess.

[DigitalOne]

Originally Posted by am1m

I had a question about the tax implication of transferring bank deposits. Say I die first (and statistically the chances of that happening are higher), and my wife inherits whatever I have in FDs and MFs, will that be taxed on transfer or only after she gets it? (Thanks in advance for any information!)

There is no tax on inheritance in India. FDs may have some complications because of accrued interest till the date of transfer.

Someone on this thread raised a good point about what to do in case both partners unfortunately die in the same mishap, possible, since most couples travel together. Never thought about that (since we don't have kids...

I am in the same situation. These topics are hard to broach with the wife, so just procrastinating .

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[ShankarG]

Originally Posted by ruskinash

It's important to consider the tax implications of redeeming a large amount of mutual funds. If your bank account isn't accustomed to handling large transactions, such a redemption could result in your account being flagged and frozen for suspicious activity. The incidence of account freezing has increased recently.

Originally Posted by DigitalOne

As others have written in response to my query above, operating a deceased person's account post his/her demise may be considered as a fraud. .

Good and a very valid point. I am still highly skeptical about the process and protocol we have so would rather route it through a joint account at some point. I don't want my grieving family to suffer once again through these procedures and repeated visits.

Originally Posted by am1m

Someone on this thread raised a good point about what to do in case both partners unfortunately die in the same mishap,

I have mentioned this provision in my will about all possibilities. Don't have a formal arrangement with any wealth manager in that case but I will explore that too.

Call me stupid but sometimes I get too paranoid about it. I read somewhere that big celebrities don't take the same flight while travelling to mitigate a remote chance of being in the same situation together. I too get tempted to do this as I have a lost close family member due to an accident. This is logical and a bit illogical at the same time.

[m8002?]

Originally Posted by ShankarG

Call me stupid but sometimes I get too paranoid about it. I read somewhere that big celebrities don't take the same flight while travelling to mitigate a remote chance of being in the same situation together. I too get tempted to do this as I have a lost close family member due to an accident. This is logical and a bit illogical at the same time.

Not just celebrities, in almost all govts. and large companies, that is the standard operating procedure.

You will never see the POTUS and Vice-President visiting some country together in AirForce 1. The same for companies. You will not have the CEO and other CXOs flying together in the same plane. They usually stick to different route/days even if travelling to the same city.

Doing that as a family is taking things too far.

[wheeledwanderer]

One of my friend did the same with his wife, i.e. joint account, wrote the assets to wifes name, mutual fund had his wife as a nominee etc.

One find day she vanished with the daughter and after few years my friend found out that she had landed up in New Zealand with her new found love (work colleague) and before she vanished, she wiped the account clean.

At 55 ( 6 years ago), he started fresh with no money in the account, and assets have been sold. In the divorce proceedings, she made him shell out more towards alimony and maintenance, as she had access to all the details of his wealth.

So whatever you do, do it wisely:-)

[ruskinash]

Originally Posted by wheeledwanderer

One of my friend did the same with his wife, i.e. joint account, wrote the assets to wifes name, mutual fund had his wife as a nominee etc.

She wouldn’t be able to redeem the mutual funds without her spouse’s death certificate. Did she commit fraud?

Writing assets solely in spouse’s name isn’t a wise decision. They should have been jointly owned.

[wheeledwanderer]

Yes, she committed fraud, he has not done anything because he is sandwiched between the kid and wife!

[SidTheChamp]

Originally Posted by ruskinash

The bank has to be intimated about the death of the account holder, and after due process, the funds will be transferred to the nominee.

I have a follow up question on this. Is nominee enough to transfer funds in Bank account and Fixed deposit. Or is Will also required.
If a person is both nominee as well as the benefactor in will, then what is the process.

[ruskinash]

Originally Posted by SidTheChamp

I have a follow up question on this. Is nominee enough to transfer funds in Bank account and Fixed deposit. Or is Will also required.
If a person is both nominee as well as the benefactor in will, then what is the process.

It is good to know that the nominee is only the caretaker of the funds after the owner's demise. If a legal heir claims the funds then the nominee has to hand over all the funds that legal heirs are eligible to claim.

When the legal heir is also the nominee, it simplifies the process. However, having a WILL can smoothen the proceedings. Therefore, it's crucial to appoint a nominee and also have a WILL established.

Legal heirs can exist without a will. When someone dies without a will, their assets are distributed to class-I heirs according to the relevant succession laws. In India, these laws often favour immediate family members, such as parents, children, spouses, and siblings.

For instance, according to the Hindu Succession Act, the spouse, children, and mother are the primary inheritors. If there is no will, all beneficiaries are required to obtain a legal heir certificate to claim the assets. This certificate, issued by a civil court, validates the legal heirs' entitlement and their inheritance of the deceased's debts and securities.


TL;DR: A nominee is enough to transfer the funds to their account. But they don't OWN the funds unless they're the legal heirs. It will be easier to transfer the funds if the nominee is named in the WILL.

[krrisdrive]

Originally Posted by ruskinash

A nominee is enough to transfer the funds to their account. But they don't OWN the funds unless they're the legal heirs. It will be easier to transfer the funds if the nominee is named in the WILL.

Are you implying that if one son/daughter gets fund transferred from deceased bank account as a nominee, s/he may be challenged by other son/daughter as a legal heir-ship if there is no will?

[ruskinash]

Originally Posted by krrisdrive

Are you implying that if one son/daughter gets fund transferred from deceased bank account as a nominee, s/he may be challenged by other son/daughter as a legal heir-ship if there is no will?

Without a will, all class 1 legal heirs have equal rights to the deceased's assets regardless of who the nominee is.

for further reading:
https://www.willjini.com/blog/inheri...without-a-will

[deepak_misra]

Originally Posted by dsuman

I simply invest on my wife's name.

I hope you are aware of the clubbing of income from a tax point of view for such cases. Having investments in joint name along with a will maybe a better option

[rx100]

Originally Posted by dsuman

3. Explain the benefits, claim procedures to them. For e.g. if you have term/life insurance policy, then the insurer must be informed before your body is cremated.

Is this info correct? Who will be going behind insurance during the time of grief. Usually there is 30 days window to inform the insurers.

[raksrules]

I have done this so let me add my 2 paise...

1. I have a google sheet with all my investment details updated, each mutual fund, shares, PF, PPF, SGB etc. all listed and self-updating. The self-updating part is for current value of say shares or mutual funds. But I do update units every month after my SIPs are invested and units obtained.
   
2. I have one tab which has all the PAN#, Bank account numbers and current balance (updated manually regularly), Adhaar, PRAN# etc.
   
3. One sheet has a detailed process (as per my understanding) of how to redeem something, be it mutual fund or shares or something else.
   
4. One sheet has our medical insurance and my term insurance information as redeeming term insurance will be of paramount importance.
   
5. In the same google sheets, I have put a tab called "IN CASE OF DEATH" where I have tried to detail what all she needs to do if I were to die and explained about what she can do with each investment or our flat (one where I am not staying).
   
6. Our Passwords are stored in bitwarden app which is on her phone, my phone and our laptop too and she is aware of the master password which is very long but something we know.

How to get a normal will made? Like "If I die, my wife will be sole owner of everything I have" kind of?