MAKE SURE YOUR ESTATE PASSES SMOOTHLY

ESTATE PLANNING | Don't delay the drawing up of a will and make it difficult for your family by not leaving clear instructions about your financial assets

- Narayan Krishnamurthy

Neha Bhasin is worried about sorting the numerous files with documents that detail her parents' bank account statements, phone bill records, maintenance charges towards gadgets and apartment, pension existence certificate, medical records and more. Her parents, like many others, unfortunately died in 2021 due to Covid complications. The 49-year-old Mumbaikar has been shuttling between Delhi and Mumbai to get a grip on the assets left by her parents.

"I have been married for 25 years and in all these years, I would meet my parents during vacations and family events. We rarely discussed their finances," she says. Her brother has been settled in Singapore for two decades now. "Our parents were very independent and we were fine till the Covid complications set in and they needed assistance," she says. The emotional trauma aside, she is facing several challenges to pick up the pieces from the documents left by her parents.

In the past two years, many families have faced new challenges of losing their near and dear ones who haven't left any clear instructions about their financial lives. Making a will is something that is never a priority, despite knowing for certain that one day one will die. Many people think that they hardly have any financial possessions that require a will, or assume that there is plenty of time before they can draw up one.

Even shrewd businessmen have gambled their way by not having a clear succession plan. Take the oft-cited case of the late Dhirubhai Ambani who, despite his business acumen, didn't leave a succession plan, which left his sons fighting for his empire. There have been several other business families that have witnessed legal battles and bitterness causing family disputes, which have disrupted business and eroded wealth.

MISCONCEPTIONS GALORE