Rights of legal heirs if their father dies without a will

Capitalstars Investment Advisor
The trust cannot be open-ended. The trustees will have to name appropriate successors. If the money belonged to your father, the successors of the other heirs can also lay claim to the money at a future date.

Ashish has made several trips to the bank since his father died last year, leaving behind a bank account with a large balance. Unfortunately, he had not named a nominee nor made a will. Ashish’s mother wants to use the money to set up a scholarship in his father’s school. How can Ashish fulfil his mother’s wish?

Since Ashish’s father died intestate, the process for claiming the money will be long-drawn. Had there been a nomination, it would have been easier. Ashish now will have to obtain a certificate naming the legal heirs. He then has to apply to the bank with the death certificate, indemnities and sureties as the bank may need, no-objection certification from all the other heirs, and proof of address and identity. The money is paid out to Ashish by the bank only as an operational process. The bank does not involve itself in legacy issues. So, Ashish only holds the money as a trustee, and the rights of other heirs will still be enforceable.

Since the money has to be used for providing a scholarship, Ashish has to create a trust, which will hold the money. He will also have to appoint trustees who will oversee the investment of money in appropriate products and disbursal of cash prizes every year.

The trust cannot be open-ended, and without a named beneficiary for the principal amount. The trustees will have to name appropriate successors. Since the money belonged to his father, the successors of the other heirs can also lay claim to the money at a future date. Therefore, the legal documentation for the trust will have to take into account these factors before the trust is created and operationalised.

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