Wills and Nominations are an important aspect to protect one’s hard-earned savings and to ensure that after their death, conflicts do not arise between family and relatives. Drafting a will however involves some intricacies which need guidance and with the recent Supreme Court judgement which now gives daughters equal rights to the ancestral property, its all the more important to draft a will properly and understand its nuances.
Keeping that in mind, Moneylife Foundation organised another important webinar with CA Vimal Punmiya, who spoke on the implication of the SC ruling on a daughter's right to ancestral property and why wills are essential for every individual.
As the process of making a Will was covered in detail during the previous session with Adv SD Israni, Mr Punmiya talked about the various details that go into a Will, explaining what makes it a legally valid Will. He also explained why every individual above a certain age should consider making a Will, as intestate assets usually get distributed amongst surviving family members as per the respective succession laws of each religion.
The Hindu Succession Act is applicable to Hindus generally, while the Indian Succession Act is applicable to Christians, Parsis and Jews with Muslims following their respective personal laws as per Shariat Act. A legally valid and well written unambiguous Will ensures that members of the deceased’s family do not end up in long legal battles and disputes over the deceased’s assets.
Mr Punmiya also took some time in explaining the impact of a recent Supreme Court ruling that allows married daughters of a HUF equal rights to her ancestral property after her father’s death. In his talk, he stressed that the judgement is a progressive step in the right direction in creating a level playing field in the legal rights of women. However, bringing about behavioural change in society will play a bigger role towards the goal of gender parity.
Mr Punmiya has kindly shared a detailed note on the most commonly asked questions that people normally have about Wills, which can be found here.
Video Recording of the Session: