Where there’s a will, there is clarity! The growing penetration of internet in the country has opened avenues for writing wills online, something which was inconceivable a few years ago, and Indians are gradually waking up to this. Last year saw companies such as Warmond Trustees and Executors Pvt Ltd in collaboration with NSDL and HDFC Securities foraying into the business of writing wills online, reflecting rising awareness in drafting wills. [related-post] “Awareness for writing a will and succession planning in India has been growing exponentially. This is because of two factors — the wealth has grown in the country and the relationships are fractured. These two factors have put the focus on proper documentation of assets. Our portal gives the technological capabilities and government’s legal skills to customers and the response we have received has been phenomenal. It is picking up pace,” Gokul Das, CEO and MD, Warmond Trustees and Executors Pvt Ltd, told The Indian Express. In fact, Das said, ever since the portal — ezeewill.com — was launched last year in August, it has seen three million hits while over 3,000 registrations have been made for writing the will online. A will is a document declaring the legal intention of the individual — who is called a testator — about the distribution of her assets after her death. In the absence of a will, the assets get divided as per the inheritance laws applicable to the individuals. Any person above 18 years and of a sound mind can make a will. While the trend of e-wills is very recent in India due to the phenomenal growth in internet connections, countries like the US, the UK and Australia have been doing it for a while now. UK-based Q-Will and US-based legacywriter.com offer templates from which customers can choose according to their requirement for much lower costs. According to Trai, total number of subscribers for internet connections up to June last year stood at 259.14 million, indicating the potential customer base of e-will companies. Pointing out that writing a will is the most unselfish act by an individual, Das said that the wills are prepared as per the succession laws applicable and takes around an hour if the requisite information is in place. “We have legal experts to assist customers. A lot of information is required for writing a will and if you have all the documents in place, it should not take more than an hour. We also capture digital assets. Since inheritance laws are different you can’t have a template,” he said. And, against the perception, it is not only high-networth individuals who are coming forward to get their wills drafted. Dhiraj Relli, MD and CEO, HDFC Securities, said, “Customers are coming from across the sector and across religions”. The wills are governed by the inheritance laws based on the religion and customs of the testator, the person who makes and executes a will. These laws are sometimes also different for men and women. There are different kinds of wills — unprivileged will, privileged will, conditional wills, joint wills, mutual will, concurrent will and sham will. Benefits and the process Since e-will is a relatively new concept in India, what is it that is driving the interest of customers in writing wills online? Relli says that the main attraction is much lower costs compared to writing a will the traditional way. “It does not take much time and costs less. All that the customers have to do is to complete the family tree and get all the records in place. We give them 60 days after the registration to get the details . The charge is Rs 4,000 plus taxes. You can also be sure about the confidentiality and you don’t have to trust an outsider with the will. We don’t save data so it is completely safe. The data gets purged after 90 days,” Relli said. After registering on the portal, the customer pays the fee online and gives information regarding gender, religion, occupation, residential status and assets alongside the personal details about the family and details of they want to bequeath the assets. The data can be reviewed before submitting. Legal experts draft the will and send it back. Some portals also act as executors and keep the will in safe custody as per the wish of clients.
