The questions we are asked most often

Yes. A nominee generally receives an asset as a trustee for the legal heirs — nomination decides who is paid, not who owns. Listed shares under Section 72 of the Companies Act, 2013 and beneficial nominations under Section 39 of the Insurance Act are the notable exceptions. A Will is the only instrument that speaks for the whole estate in one voice.

No, registration is optional. But a registered Will is materially harder to challenge on grounds of forgery or substitution, and it gives the sub-registrar's record as independent evidence. We recommend registration in almost every case.

The estate is distributed under the succession law applicable to that person — the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, the Indian Succession Act, 1925 for Christians and Parsis, or Muslim personal law. Those rules take no account of what the family needs, who cared for whom, or what was promised.

It depends on the complexity of the estate and the instrument. A straightforward registered Will sits at one end; a multi-jurisdiction trust with a family constitution at the other. We quote a fixed fee in writing after the discovery conversation, before any work begins.

Any number of times, as long as you have testamentary capacity. Small changes are made by codicil; substantial ones by a fresh Will that revokes the earlier one. We build a review into the engagement precisely because life changes.

No. The strongest cases for a trust are structural rather than financial — a dependant with a disability, a blended family, a business that must not fragment, or property in a jurisdiction where probate is mandatory. Plenty of large estates need only a good Will.

Yes, and it is a significant part of our practice. We usually recommend a separate India-situs Will alongside your foreign Will, drafted so that neither revokes the other, plus verification of title and mutation records for Indian property.

PassOnLegacy LLP is an estate planning and wealth transfer advisory firm. We draft, structure and coordinate, and we work with empanelled advocates and chartered accountants for court process and tax opinions. Where you need independent legal representation, we will say so.