—Personal, NRI & HNI Advisory
Wealth & Succession Planning
Family trust structuring, HUF planning and succession advisory (legal drafting coordinated with counsel).
Handled by a practising Chartered Accountant or Company Secretary.
Scope of work
Family trust structuring, HUF planning and succession advisory (legal drafting coordinated with counsel).
Key deliverables
- Structuring proposal
Governing law
Income-tax Act (1961 / 2025, as applicable to the period); Trust and Succession laws
Frequency
As required
REGISTRATION + COMPLIANCE CARE
Wealth & Succession Planning + Compliance Care
Get a quote
+ ₹9,599/yr for year-one ROC compliance
- Structuring proposal
- Financial statements in Schedule III format
- Board report and AGM notice
- Filed AOC-4 with SRN
- Filed MGT-7 / MGT-7A with SRN
- Board and AGM minutes
500+
Companies incorporated
100%
CA/CS-signed filings
4.8/5
Founder rating
—A closer look
Understanding wealth and succession planning
Everything below is written for families and business owners — how to pass on wealth smoothly in India, the role of wills, nominations and trusts, and the tax and legal points to plan for.
What is wealth and succession planning?
Succession planning decides who gets what, when and how, so that wealth and businesses pass on without disputes, delays or avoidable tax. It combines legal tools — wills, family trusts, gifts and nominations — with tax planning and practical steps like documenting assets.
India has no inheritance or estate tax, but succession can still be costly: disputes between heirs, frozen assets, stamp duty, and capital gains when heirs later sell. Planning ahead avoids most of it.
The key terms
The main tools:
- Will
- A legal document setting out how your assets pass on death. It can be changed any time.
- Nomination
- Tells banks, depositories and insurers whom to pay. Nominees generally hold assets for the legal heirs unless the law says otherwise.
- Private family trust
- Assets are transferred to trustees to hold for beneficiaries, protecting them and avoiding probate.
- Gifts to relatives
- Gifts to specified relatives are tax-free for the recipient.
- Intestate succession
- Without a will, assets pass under personal law — the Hindu Succession Act, Muslim personal law, or the Indian Succession Act.
- Probate
- Court confirmation of a will, required in some places and useful elsewhere.
- HUF
- A Hindu Undivided Family, a separate tax entity, with its own succession questions.
A simple example
A Hyderabad business owner has a manufacturing company, two flats, investments and a farmhouse plot. Their children are in Hyderabad and the US. Without a plan, the company shares would pass under personal law, possibly splitting control. They make a registered will, set up a private family trust to hold the company shares so that management passes to the child running the business while all children share the economic benefit, update nominations, and document the assets. Because the US-based child is an NRI, the plan also accounts for FEMA rules on inheriting agricultural land and repatriating proceeds.
Why it matters
Unplanned succession causes problems:
- Family disputes
- Unclear intentions lead to litigation among heirs.
- Frozen assets
- Banks and registrars may freeze assets until heirship is proved.
- Business continuity
- Control of a family business may pass to people not involved in it.
- Nominee confusion
- Nominees don't automatically own assets; legal heirs may claim.
- Cross-border heirs
- NRI heirs face FEMA and foreign tax rules.
- Future taxes
- Heirs inherit the original cost, so capital gains on later sales can be large.
- Vulnerable beneficiaries
- Minors or dependants need protection.
Who is this for?
- Business owners planning for the next generation
- Families with property and investments
- Families with heirs abroad
- People with dependants who need protection
- Families wanting to avoid disputes
We work with lawyers to draft wills and trust deeds, and handle the tax and financial side.
Succession tools compared
How the main tools compare:
| Aspect | Will | Private trust | Lifetime gift |
|---|---|---|---|
| When it takes effect | On death | When assets are transferred | Immediately |
| Control | You keep full control during life | Trustees control, per the deed | Recipient controls |
| Can be changed | Any time | Depends on the trust type | Generally no |
| Dispute risk | Can be challenged | Lower | Lower |
| Costs | Low | Setup and ongoing | Stamp duty on property |
What we'll need from you
- Asset list
- Property, business interests, investments, accounts and insurance.
- Family details
- Heirs, their residence and needs.
- Existing documents
- Wills, nominations, partnership deeds and shareholders' agreements.
- Business structure
- Holdings and control of family businesses.
- Goals
- How you want wealth and control to pass on.
- Personal law
- The succession law that applies to you.
Engagements are quoted based on the complexity of assets and family structure.
How we plan succession
Our approach:
- 1
Understand
We map assets, family and goals.
- 2
Analyse
Legal, tax and FEMA implications of options are reviewed.
- 3
Design
A plan combining wills, trusts, gifts and nominations is proposed.
- 4
Document
Wills and trust deeds are drafted with legal counsel.
- 5
Implement
Assets are transferred, nominations updated and records organised.
- 6
Review
The plan is reviewed after life events and law changes.
Keeping the plan current
Review when:
- Life events
- Marriage, birth, divorce or death in the family.
- New assets
- Major acquisitions or sales.
- Business changes
- Fundraising, restructuring or sale of the business.
- Residency changes
- When heirs move abroad or return.
- Law changes
- Tax or succession law amendments.
- Trust administration
- Run the trust properly, with accounts and returns.
Benefits and responsibilities
Benefits
- Clear intentions, fewer disputes
- Smooth transfer of business control
- Protection for dependants
- Cross-border heirs planned for
- Tax implications considered
Responsibilities
- Share complete asset details
- Make decisions about beneficiaries
- Sign and register documents
- Update nominations
- Tell your executor where documents are
- Review after major changes
—FAQ
Questions families actually ask us
No. Inheritances aren't taxed when received. But heirs inherit the original cost, so capital gains tax applies when they sell.