Now Reading: Why every Indian investor needs a financial inventory now
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Why every Indian investor needs a financial inventory now
Estate planning experts warn that naming nominees and drafting a Will alone are not enough to ensure your family can access your assets after your death. A financial inventory, a single document…
The Story in Brief
Estate planning experts warn that naming nominees and drafting a Will alone are not enough to ensure your family can access your assets after your death. A financial inventory, a single document listing all bank accounts, mutual funds, insurance policies, provident fund accounts, property, loans, and digital wallets, is essential because savings today are scattered across multiple institutions and platforms.
Without such a record, families may spend months tracking down assets, including forgotten salary accounts or old fixed deposits. Livemint reports that secure password managers with legacy access, such as Apple or Google's nominee features, are safer than sharing passwords directly. Experts advise reviewing the inventory annually and after major life events like marriage or buying property.
The Indian Opinion
The standard advice to 'just name a nominee' overlooks the real bottleneck: locating scattered assets. Indian families often waste months hunting for old EPF accounts or insurance policies after a death. The narrative that a Will alone suffices is lazy, it decides who gets what, not where to find it. The real test is whether your executor can log into your demat account tomorrow. Build a simple one-page inventory and store it with your lawyer. If you cannot, do not pretend your estate is sorted.
Source: livemint.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
