Various Income Tax Savings Schemes

Tax saving is a benefit you can avail for selective investment options and expenses. You anyways need to invest money to achieve your financial goals. Investments which save tax can help you in two ways:

  • Invest more and have more disposable income
  • Grow your investment faster

  • Make an investment of Rs 1.5 lakh under Sec 80C to reduce your taxable income. Additional deduction of Rs 50,000 can be claimed by investing in NPS under 80CCD (1b)
  • Buy Medical Insurance, maximum deduction allowed is Rs. 1,00,000 (Rs 50,000 for self and family if senior citizen and Rs 50,000 for senior citizen parents) under Section 80D.
  • Claim deduction up to Rs 50,000 on Home Loan Interest under Section 80EE

The most popular tax-saving options available to individuals and HUFs in India are under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act, Section 80C includes various investments and expenses you can claim deductions on – up to the limit of Rs. 1.5 lakh in a financial year.

Investment Returns Lock-in Period
5-Year Bank Fixed Deposit 6% to 7% 5 years
Public Provident Fund (PPF) 7% to 8% 15 years
National Savings Certificate 7% to 8% 5 years
National Pension System (NPS) 12% to 14% Till Retirement
ELSS Funds 15% to 18% 3 years
Unit Linked Insurance Plan (ULIP) Varies with Plan Chosen 5 years
Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY) 7.60% N/A
Senior Citizen Saving Scheme (SCSS) 7.40% 5 years

Financial Objectives in Retirement Planning

Retirement planning, in a financial context, refers to the allocation of savings or revenue for retirement. The goal of retirement planning is to achieve financial independence.

Without a judicious retirement plan in place, you run the risk of outliving your savings and not being able to maintain the desired lifestyle in your retirement years. You also run the risk of not being able to accumulate enough corpus for your dependant’s owing to unfortunate and uncertain events like death, disability etc.

Retirement planning helps you determine how much to save today for retirement; how to invest your savings to get the desired returns; how to protect your assets and provide for in case of unfortunate events and how to make judicious use of retirement income post retirement.

The process of retirement planning aims to:

  • Assess readiness-to-retire given a desired retirement age and lifestyle, i.e., whether one has enough money to retire
  • Identify actions to improve readiness-to-retire
  • Acquire financial planning knowledge
  • Encourage saving practices

Modeling and limitations

Retirement finances touch upon distinct subject areas or financial domains of client importance, including: investments (i.e., stocks, bonds, mutual funds); real estate; debt; taxes; cash flow (income and expense) analysis; insurance; defined benefits (e.g., social security, traditional pensions). From an analytic perspective, each domain can be formally characterized and modeled using a different class representation, as defined by a domain’s unique set of attributes and behaviors. Domain models require definition only at a level of abstraction necessary for decision analysis. Since planning is about the future, domains need to extend beyond current state description and address uncertainty, volatility, change dynamics (i.e., constancy or determinism is not assumed). Together, these factors raise significant challenges to any current producer claim of model predictability or certainty.

Monte Carlo method

The Monte Carlo method is the most common form of a mathematical model that is applied to predict long-term investment behavior for a client’s retirement planning. Its use helps to identify adequacy of client’s investment to attain retirement readiness and to clarify strategic choices and actions. Yet, the investment domain is only a financial domain and therefore is incomplete. Depending on client context, the investment domain may have very little importance in relation to a client’s other domains e.g., a client who is predisposed to the use of real estate as a primary source of retirement funding.

There are various kinds of needs and life-events, some of which are listed below:

  • Retirement Corpus
  • Buying a Home
  • Post Retirement payout
  • Job Transition
  • Parenthood
  • Children’s Education
  • Children’s Marriage
  • Insurance
  • Tax planning

Introduction to Retirement Planning, Purpose & Need, Life Cycle Planning

Retirement planning is the process of determining retirement income goals, and the actions and decisions necessary to achieve those goals. Retirement planning includes identifying sources of income, sizing up expenses, implementing a savings program, and managing assets and risk. Future cash flows are estimated to gauge whether the retirement income goal will be achieved. Some retirement plans change depending on whether you’re in, say, India, United States or Australia.

Retirement planning is the process of setting retirement income goals and the actions and decisions necessary to achieve those goals. Retirement planning includes identifying sources of income, estimating expenses, implementing a savings program, and managing assets and risk.

Retirement planning is ideally a life-long process. You can start at any time, but it works best if you factor it into your financial planning from the beginning. That’s the best way to ensure a safe, secure and fun retirement. The fun part is why it makes sense to pay attention to the serious and perhaps boring part: planning how you’ll get there.

Purpose

Money works for you

In the younger days, everyone runs after their 9-5 jobs. Everyone works to earn money and have a good living. However, retirement days are the days where one cannot work any longer. Therefore, it is the time when the money one earned should do all the work.

Stress-free life

This is the most significant outcome of retirement planning. Retirement planning helps to lead a peaceful and stress-free life. With having investments that earn regular income during retirement leads to a worry-free life. Retirement is the age where one has to relax and reap the benefits of all the hard work.

Inflation beating returns

Investing in retirement will help in earning inflation-beating returns. Holding money in a bank savings account will not generate high returns. In other words, the interest earned will not be enough to lead an uncompromised retirement. Therefore, proper investment planning will help one to generate significant returns in the long term. Also, it is important to start investing early. This helps in averaging out the impact of market volatility.

Cost-saving

Planning for retirement at a young age will help in reducing the cost. For example, in an insurance policy the premium amount to be paid will be lesser when the policyholder is younger. While getting insurance during retirement becomes costly.

Need

  • Best time to fulfil life aspirations.
  • One cannot work forever.
  • Start planning early and diversify investments.
  • The average life expectancy is increasing.
  • Relying on one source of income is risky, e.g., pension.
  • Do not depend on children.
  • Higher complications, e.g., medical emergencies.
  • Contribute to the family even during retirement.

Life cycle Planning

Stages of Retirement Planning:

  1. Young Adulthood: Those who are entering an adult life may not have a lot of money to invest, but they can have enough time to let investments mature. It makes a critical and valuable piece of retirement saving. Such investments can make up a large piece of investments with regards to the principle of compound interest. Compound interest allows interest to be calculated on interest the more time you have, the more interest you will earn.
  2. Early midlife: This age can bring in a lot of financial stress in terms of mortgages, student loans, and insurance premiums. Therefore, it may be difficult to save in this period.
  3. Later midlife: When time is running out to make up for the difference in the actual savings and retirement plans, you will have the last opportunity to fill the gap. Since you will have higher wages and most of your debts would be fulfilled, you can have a larger sum available for investment.

The level of emphasis on retirement planning varies throughout different life stages. During the youth, retirement planning only means setting aside enough funds for retirement. During the middle of the career, it might change to setting specific income/asset targets and taking the necessary steps to realise them. Once you reach retirement, decades of savings will pay out.

Pre & Post-Retirement Strategies

The most important part of Retirement planning is ‘Investing’. Investing for retirement has to be very effective. There are several investment avenues that you can opt for retirement planning.

You have spent years accumulating your retirement fund. What is the best way to draw it down. Your retirement fund may consist of a collection of the following:

  • Personal Pensions
  • Company Pensions
  • AVC
  • Deferred pensions
  • Paid up pensions
  • Retirement Bonds

There is no right or wrong solution to retiring your fund. Only your solution. Everyone is different with a different set of needs, assets and objectives. We provide a bespoke solution to all of our clients to ensure that you receive the best solution for your specific situation, be it maximum tax-free lump sum or highest possible life time pension.

Pre

Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs): Exchange traded funds are considered to be one of the popular securities amongst investors. An Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) is a type of investment that is bought and sold on stock exchanges. It holds assets like commodities, bonds, or stocks. An exchange traded fund is like a mutual fund, but unlike a Mutual Fund, ETFs can be sold at any time during the trading period. Moreover, ETFs helps you to build a diverse portfolio.

Bonds: Bonds are one of the most popular retirement investment options. A bond is a debt security where the buyer/holder initially pays the principal amount for buying the bond from the issuer. The issuer of the bond then pays the holder an interest at regular intervals and also pays the principal amount at the maturity date. Some of the bonds provide good 10-20% p.a.-rate of interest. Also, there is no tax applicable on bonds at the time of investment.

Real Estate: It’s the most preferred retirement investment options amongst investors. It is an investment made in the real estate, i.e. house/shop/site, etc. It’s considered to give good stable returns. To make an investment in real estate, one should consider good location as the key point.

Equity Funds An equity fund is a type of Mutual Fund that invests mainly in stocks. Equity represents ownership in firms (publicly or privately traded) and the aim of the stock ownership is to participate in the growth of the business over a period of time. The wealth you invest in Equity Funds is regulated by SEBI and they frame policies & norms to ensure that the investor’s money is safe. As equities are ideal for long-term investments, it is one of the best retirement investment options.

New Pension Scheme (NPS) New Pension Scheme is gaining popularity in India as one of the best retirement investment options. NPS is open to all but, is mandatory for all government employees. An investor can deposit a minimum of INR 500 per month or INR 6000 yearly, making it as the most convenient for Indian citizens. Investors can consider NPS as a good idea for their retirement planning because there is no direct tax exemption during the time of withdrawal as the amount is tax-free as per Tax Act, 1961. This scheme is a risk-free investment as it’s backed by the Government of India.

Post

Bank Fixed Deposits: Most people consider the Fixed Deposit investment as a part of their retirement investment options because it enables money to be deposited with banks for a fixed maturity period, ranging from 15 days to five years (& above) and it allows to earn a higher rate of interest than other conventional Savings Account. During the time of maturity, the investor receives a return which is equal to the principal and also the interest earned over the duration of the fixed deposit.

Reverse Mortgage As a part of the post- retirement investment options, a reverse mortgage is a good option for senior citizens who need a steady flow of income. In a reverse mortgage, stable money is generated from the lender in lieu of the mortgage on their homes. Any house owner who is 60 years of age (and above) is eligible for this. Retired people can live in their property and receive regular payments, until the death. The money receivable from the Bank will depend on the valuation of property, its current price and well as the condition of the property.

Annuity An annuity is an agreement aimed at generating steady income during retirement. Where a lump sum payment is made by an investor to obtain a certain amount instantly or in future. The minimum age entry for any investor in this scheme is 40 years and the maximum is up to 100 years.

Senior Citizen Saving Schemes (SCSS): As part of the post- retirement investment options, an SCSS is designed for retired people who are above 60 years old. SCSS is available through certified banks as well as the network post offices spread across India. This scheme (or SCSS account) is up to five years, but, upon the maturity, it can be subsequently extended for an additional three years. With this investment, tax exemption is eligible under Section 80C.

Retirement Evaluation & Planning

Financial planning is a process of setting objectives vis-à-vis your current income. It involves assessing your currents savings and assets, estimating future financial needs, and making plans to achieve monetary goals. Retirement Planning goes beyond financial planning or providing investment advice and is aimed at achieving financial security for retirement. It is aholistic solution aimed at enabling people to achieve their financial dreams both before and after retirement.

Retirement planning is not an art but a definitive science which requires taking a 360-degree approach to studying one’s current financial health, long-term goals and risk appetite to design a plan that addresses the retirement and other long-term goals of an individual.

It involves a step-by-step approach:

Step 1: Identifying your financial and retirement goals

Step 2: Analysing your current financial situation

Step 3: Risk Profiling

Step 4: Asset Allocation

Step 5: Investment Allocation Strategy

Step 6: Periodic Monitoring and Rebalancing

Strategies

  • Cut down expenses.
  • Seek expert advice / professional help to create a roadmap for you to maximise your savings without compromising your standard of living.
  • Choose investment options that give you higher returns.
  • It is good to have a working spouse to generate an additional income stream.
  • Look for additional income through another job / business simultaneously if possible.
  • Start immediately.

Planning

Decide Your Retirement Age

The most common retirement age is 60 years, but it may vary from person to person.

Some may wish to work beyond 60 years of age, while a few even wish to retire at 50 basically it’s a matter of choice.

Estimating your retirement age is an important step, because after this age your regular income stream will stop or at least reduce considerably (in case you are eligible for pension). You will have to depend on your savings and investments to take care of your retirement needs.

Start Early to Retire Peacefully

Like any other goal, start planning your retirement as soon as possible. With several years in hand, you have time and the power of compounding in your favour.

Never delay retirement planning or else you might have to compromise your goal. Worst case you might have to be financially dependent on your children or family. Hence, start early, start now.

Most individuals who are in their 20s and having recently started earning might think that retirement is a distant reality. For them, planning for retirement at this early age may seem like being overly cautious.

Determine Your Retirement Corpus

Retirement corpus is the amount you require post retirement to meet your expenses and continue with the same lifestyle and maybe pursue your other personal goals.

For this, first ascertain your annual expenses at present.

For that you need to first write down monthly expenses on various categories such as household, medical, entertainment, travel, EMI, and children’s school/tuition fees, and so on.

So, it is important that you make an accurate estimate of how much amount you will require, to maintain your present lifestyle after you retire.

Wealth Creation: Factors and Principles

Wealth creation is the process of investing in different asset classes where the investments will help in fulfilling key needs. These investments should also be self-contained that can generate a stable source of income, helping one to fulfill their aspirations.

The wealth creation process will be most effective if started early. Starting investments during the early stages of life will give a head start for achieving goals. It also helps in generating higher growth in the long term. This is due to the power of compounding. Power of compounding is a concept that will help in building a considerable corpus in the future. The concept of compounding revolves around reinvesting the returns back into the fund to earn higher growth. Therefore, the longer one stays invested, the higher will be the gain in wealth.

Wealth creation is a process of investing in multiple asset classes that eventually help in meeting one’s livelihood needs. Therefore, wealth creation as an investment strategy plays a significant role.

No one really knows what the future holds for them. Hence, it is better to start planning for the future from the beginning. Starting investments early will help in creating wealth in the long term. Short term investments will not always create wealth.

Each one of us will reach a point where we are unable to work any longer or earn an income. Planning for a safe and secure livelihood in the future is what wealth creation is all about.

Factors

Goal based investing

Goal based investing is the best way to measure one’s financial success. All of us have goals and dreams about the future. Prioritizing and achieving one goal at a time will give the utmost satisfaction. To do so, one should list down all the goals along with timelines and start investing towards them. Starting small and early will help in wealth creation. Having a separate investment fund for each goal will help in achieving them sooner. Therefore, aligning investments to financial goals will help individuals to create wealth.

Retirement planning

The benefits of investments are realized to a greater extent during post retirement years. Having a separate retirement fund will help investors in leading a stress free and healthy retirement. Retirement is the time where one’s savings or investments do the work for them. To create one such fund, it is important to start early and invest regularly.

Regular income

Investments into good assets will help in generating alternate sources of income. For example, investments in equities, mutual funds or debt instruments will help in generating income through interest or dividends. Therefore, during retirement, these investments will be an additional source of income that will help one in retiring peacefully and have financial independence. Also, in times of emergencies or health crisis, these investments will help in addressing the contingencies.

Strategies

  • Make money. Before you can begin to save or invest, you need to have a long-term source of income that’s sufficient to have some left after you’ve covered your necessities and debts.
  • Save money. Once you have an income that’s enough to cover your basics, develop a proactive savings plan.
  • Invest money. Once you’ve set aside a monthly savings goal, invest it prudently.

Principles

Fundamental Factors

The returns an investment generates will be based on its fundamental factors. Analysing fundamental factors only will lead to a long term success. There is a lot of difference between taking one right investment decision by fluke and taking right investment decisions regularly by analyzing the fundamental factors.

Risk Vs Safety

Whatever the long term savings you have got you can invest in risky assets like equity funds. You will be adequately rewarded for taking risk in the long run. Whatever the short term savings you have got you can park it in FDs or debt funds.

 Investing your long term money in safe avenues will be a destruction to create long term wealth. You will not be able to beat inflation. Similarly investing your short term money in risky investments is also dangerous.

Asset Allocation

Depending upon your financial goals, you need to arrive at the required rate of return from your investments. You need to decide what kind of allocation needs to be given to different kind of investment avenues like Fd, Debt funds, balanced fund or a high risk Equity Funds.

Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) Significance, Provisions, Types, Responsibilities

Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) is a pivotal mechanism in the Indian taxation system, aimed at the collection of tax from the very source of income. As a part of this system, the payer (deductor) of the income is obligated to deduct tax at source before making the payment to the receiver (deductee) and deposit the same with the government. The concept of TDS embodies the principle of “pay as you earn,” ensuring regular inflow of revenue to the government and spreading the tax payment over a period of time for the taxpayer.

Significance of TDS

The TDS mechanism serves multiple purposes. Primarily, it aims to collect tax from the source of income, thereby minimizing tax evasion. By ensuring that a portion of the income is taxed at the point of generation, the government secures a steady stream of tax revenue throughout the financial year. Additionally, TDS aids taxpayers in spreading their tax payment over the year, reducing the burden of lump-sum tax payments at the end of the fiscal year. It also simplifies the tax collection process and enhances the efficiency of the tax administration by shifting the responsibility of tax collection from the taxpayer to the deductor.

Applicable Provisions

The provisions related to TDS are outlined in the Income Tax Act, 1961, primarily under sections 192 to 196D. These sections specify the nature of payments subject to TDS, the rates at which tax is to be deducted, and the responsibilities of the deductor and deductee. The Act also lays down the procedure for depositing the deducted tax with the government, issuing TDS certificates to the deductee, and filing TDS returns by the deductor.

Types of Payments Covered

TDS is applicable to various types of payments, including but not limited to salaries, interest payments (e.g., on securities, deposits), dividends, commission or brokerage fees, rent, professional or technical service fees, and transfer of immovable property. The rate of TDS varies depending on the nature of payment and the status of the payee, with specific exemptions and thresholds provided for different categories of income.

Responsibilities of Deductors

Deductors, who are usually employers, organizations, or individuals making specified payments, are tasked with several responsibilities under the TDS mechanism.

  • Deducting Tax:

Deductors must deduct tax at the specified rate at the time of making the payment or crediting the amount to the payee’s account, whichever is earlier.

  • Depositing Tax:

The deducted tax must be deposited with the government within the prescribed timeline using Challan ITNS-281.

  • TDS Certificates:

Deductors are required to issue TDS certificates (Form 16 for salary payments and Form 16A for non-salary payments) to the deductee within a specified period, detailing the amount of TDS and other relevant information.

  • Filing TDS Returns:

Deductors must file quarterly TDS returns, providing details of all TDS transactions during the quarter.

Responsibilities of Deductees

Deductees, or the recipients of income, must ensure that their PAN (Permanent Account Number) is furnished to the deductor, as TDS is linked to PAN. Failure to provide PAN may result in deduction at a higher rate. Deductees should also review the TDS certificates received and ensure they are accurately reflected in their income tax returns. If excess tax has been deducted, they can claim a refund when filing their returns.

Impact on Tax Liability

TDS plays a crucial role in determining the final tax liability of an individual or entity. The tax deducted at source is treated as prepaid tax and is adjusted against the total tax liability of the taxpayer at the time of filing the annual income tax return. If the TDS exceeds the total tax liability, the taxpayer is eligible for a refund. Conversely, if the TDS is less than the total tax liability, the taxpayer must pay the balance tax.

Challenges and Compliance

While the TDS system streamlines tax collection, it also poses challenges, especially for small businesses and professionals who may find compliance burdensome due to the need for detailed record-keeping and regular filings. The government has taken steps to ease compliance through online platforms for TDS return filing and payment, and by rationalizing TDS rates and thresholds.

TDS Category Form Number Transactions Reported Due Date
Salary Form 24Q Salary income, allowances, perquisites, etc. On or before 31st May of the following financial year.
Non-Salary Payments Form 26Q Interest, rent, professional fees, contracts, etc. On or before 31st May of the following financial year.
TDS on Sale of Property Form 26QB Sale of property (TDS under section 194-IA) Within 30 days from the end of the month in which deduction is made.
TDS on Rent of Property Form 26QC Rent paid exceeding specified limit (TDS under section 194-IB) On or before 30th April of the following financial year.
TDS on Payments to Non-Residents Form 27Q Payments to non-residents including interest, dividend, royalty, etc. On or before 31st May of the following financial year.
TDS on Sale of Immovable Property (other than agricultural land) Form 26QB Sale of property (TDS under section 194-IA) Within 30 days from the end of the month in which deduction is made.
TDS on Commission and Brokerage Form 27Q Payments to non-resident agents, brokers, etc. On or before 31st May of the following financial year.

Income Tax Slabs

Income tax is levied on the income earned by all the individuals, HUF, partnership firms, LLPs and Corporates as per the Income tax Act of India. In the case of individuals, tax is levied as per the slab system if their income is above the minimum threshold limit (known as basic exemption limit).

Indian Income tax levies tax on individual taxpayers on the basis of a slab system. Slab system means different tax rates are prescribed for different ranges of income. It means the tax rates keep increasing with an increase in the income of the taxpayer. This type of taxation enables progressive and fair tax systems in the country. Such income tax slabs tend to undergo a change during every budget. These slab rates are different for different categories of taxpayers. Income tax has classified three categories of “individual “taxpayers such as:

  • Individuals (aged less than of 60 years) including residents and non-residents
  • Resident Senior citizens (60 to 80 years of age)
  • Resident Super senior citizens (aged more than 80 years)

Income tax slab rate applicable for New Tax regime – FY 2020-21

Income Tax Slab New Regime Income Tax Slab Rates for FY 2020-21
(Applicable for All Individuals & HUF)
Rs 0.0 – Rs 2.5 Lakhs NIL
Rs 2.5 lakhs- Rs 3.00 Lakhs 5% (tax rebate u/s 87a is available)
Rs. 3.00 lakhs – Rs 5.00 Lakhs
Rs. 5.00 lakhs- Rs 7.5 Lakhs 10%
Rs 7.5 lakhs – Rs 10.00 Lakhs 15%
Rs 10.00 lakhs – Rs. 12.50 Lakhs 20%
Rs. 12.5 lakhs- Rs. 15.00 Lakhs 25%
> Rs. 15 Lakhs 30%

Income tax slabs rate for Old Tax regime -FY 2020-21

Income tax slabs for Individual aged below 60 years & HUF

Income Tax Slab Individuals Below The Age Of 60 Years – Income Tax Slabs
Up to Rs 2.5 lakhs NIL
Rs. 2.5 lakh -Rs. 5Lakhs 5%
Rs 5 .00 lakh – Rs 10 lakhs 20%
> Rs 10.00 lakh 30%

NOTE: Income tax exemption limit is up to Rs.2,50,000 for Individuals, HUF below 60 years aged and NRIs for FY 2018-19

  • An additional 4% Health & education cess will be applicable on the tax amount calculated as above.
  • Surcharge:
    1. 10% of income tax, where total income exceeds Rs.50 lakh up to Rs.1 crore.
    2. 15% of income tax, where the total income exceeds Rs.1 crore.

Income tax slab for Individual aged above 60 years to 80 years

Income Tax Slab Tax Slabs for Senior Citizens (Aged 60 Years but Less Than 80 Years)
Rs 0-.00- Rs. 3.00 lakh NIL
Rs 3.00 lakh- Rs 5.00 Lakh 5%
Rs 5.00 lakh – Rs 10 Lakh 20%
> Rs 10 Lakh 30%

Estate Planning Concepts, Will, Trust

An estate plan is an arrangement for the use, conservation and transfer of one’s wealth. The process involves the creation of an estate, the growth of the estate to meet the needs of the owner and his or her family and the preservation and protection of the estate from unnecessary taxes and costs.

Estate planning is the preparation of tasks that serve to manage an individual’s asset base in the event of their incapacitation or death. The planning includes the bequest of assets to heirs and the settlement of estate taxes. Most estate plans are set up with the help of an attorney experienced in estate law.

Estate planning is often a cooperative effort between you, your attorney, and other appropriate members of an estate planning team, such as a financial planner, a life insurance agent and a CPA. The plan should not be thought of as a series of separate transactions but, rather, as an ongoing process that evolves as your needs, goals and family change, as laws change, and as new estate planning tools and techniques are developed. Proper planning requires professional thoroughness that respects the overall wellbeing of you and your family. Most importantly, however, it should be a plan that is carefully designed to meet your goals.

Estate planning goals should include the following:

  • A business exit strategy if you have an ownership interest in a business.
  • Preserving the assets of your estate by minimizing taxes and post death administrative costs not only in your estate, but also in the estates of your spouse and descendants
  • Providing instructions for your care and the management of your assets for you and your family if you become incapacitated.
  • Avoiding probate.
  • Provisions for asset preservation if you or a family member require long term health care.
  • Your control and best utilization of your assets during your life.
  • A plan of distribution that will leave your assets to whom you want, when you want, and with whatever controls you want.

Estate planning tasks include the following:

  • Limiting estate taxes by setting up trust accounts in the names of beneficiaries
  • Establishing a guardian for living dependents
  • Naming an executor of the estate to oversee the terms of the will
  • Creating or updating beneficiaries on plans such as life insurance.
  • Setting up funeral arrangements
  • Establishing annual gifting to qualified charitable and non-profit organizations to reduce the taxable estate
  • Setting up a durable power of attorney (POA) to direct other assets and investments

Will

Will is a type of legal document used to transfer the property of a person after death as per his/her wishes. The importance of Will cannot be stressed enough as lakhs of civil cases are pending before various Courts for resolving inheritance disputes. Further, all Wills are revocable at any time during the life of the person and is a confidential document. Hence, it is important for everyone to know about the benefits of having a Will and create a Will

Types of Will

Privileged Will

Privileged Wills are Wills that may be in writing or made by word of mouth by those in active services like a soldier, airman or mariner. The legal requirement for the validity of a privileged Will has been reduced to enable certain persons to quickly make a Will. The following conditions are applicable for a privileged Will:

  • The testator writes the whole will with his own hand. In such a case, it need not be signed or attested.
  • If a soldier or airman or mariner has given written or verbal instruction for the preparation of a Will but has died before it could be prepared and executed. And such will is a valid Will.
  • The testator should sign the privileged Will written wholly or in part by another person. In such a case, there is no requirement for attestation.
  • A Will written wholly or partly by another person and not signed by the testator is a valid Will if it is proved that it was written by the testator’s directions or that the testator recognized it as his/her Will.
  • A half-completed privileged Will is also considered valid if it is proved that non-execution was due to some other reason and does not appear to be an abandonment of intentions to create a Will.
  • A privileged Will can be made by word of mouth by declaring intentions.

Unprivileged Will

Will created by a person who is not a soldier employed in an expedition or engaged in actual warfare or a mariner at sea is known as an unprivileged Will. For an unprivileged Will to be valid, it must satisfy the following conditions:

  • The person creating the Will must sign or affix his/her mark to the Will. Else, some other person should sign as per the directions of the testator (Person creating the Will) in his/her presence.
  • The two or more witnesses should attest to the will. The witnesses must have seen the testator sign or affix his mark to the Will or has seen some other people sign the Will, in the presence and by the direction of the testator.
  • The signature or mark of the testator or the signature of the person signing for the testator must be placed so that it appears that it was intended to give effect to the writing as Will.

Conditional or Contingent Wills

A Will can be expressed to take effect only in the event of satisfying certain conditions or can be contingent upon other factors. Such a Will, which is valid only in the event of the happening of some contingency or condition, and if the contingency does not happen or the condition fails, is called a conditional or contingent Will.

Concurrent Wills

Concurrent Wills are written by one person wherein two or more Wills provide instructions for disposal of property for the sake of convenience. For instance, one Will could deal with the disposal of all immovable property whereas another Will deals with the disposal of all movable property.

Joint Wills

Joint Will is a type of Will wherein two or more persons agree to make a conjoint Will. If a Joint Will intends to take effect after the death of both persons, then it would not be enforceable during the life-time of either. The person at any time during the joint lives or after the death of one can revoke the joint will.

Duplicate Wills

The testator will create a duplicate will for the sake of safety or safekeeping with a bank or executor or trustee. However, if the testator destroys the Will in his/her custody, then the other Will is also considered revoked.

Holograph Wills

Wills which are handwritten by the testator himself are known as Holographic Wills. These kinds of will have their own merit. Due to the fact that they are completely handwritten by the testator himself, raises a strong presumption9 pertaining to their regularity and execution. It is held in various judicial pronouncements that “If there is hardly any suspicious circumstances attached to the will, it will require “very little” evidence to prove due execution and attestation of such a will”

Requirements of a Valid Will

Testator Details: Name, age, address details of the person making the Will

Legal declaration: A Will is a declaration. A Will is by which a living person (called testator) declares his desires or intentions. A Will is never an agreement or contract or settlement. It is for this reason that the beneficiaries of a Will should not be parties to the Will. The declaration must be legal. A declaration that is illegal either by way of the ultimate objective or in some other way will not be considered as a Will.

Intention of testator: A Will is a declaration of intention of the person making the Will. By definition, intention relates to the future and is different from statement of narration of facts as at present. A Will that only narrates the present state of affairs and does not carry a clear exposition of the intention of the testator is not a Will. Similarly, if a Will made by a wife stating what her deceased husband always desired before death is not a Will; since it carries intentions of the testator’s deceased husband and not of the testator.

With respect to his / her property: A Will can only be made with respect to the property that the testator owns or has rights over. The simple rule is that one can only give what one has. There is no way that one can give away something that one does not have.

The details of the properties which the testator wants to give to his beneficiaries under his Will like the description, the registration number, the date of registration and whether it is his self acquired property etc. If it is a movable property, then the details and description of each should be clearly and individually mentioned.

Beneficiary Details: In case of multiple beneficiaries, the details of each beneficiary like name, age, address, relationship of the beneficiary with the Testator.

Desires to be carried into effect after his / her death: The Will must state clearly that the testator desires that it comes into effect after his / her death. A renunciation during one’s lifetime does not amount to a Will. If the document desires to partition property among the testator’s sons while the testator is still living, the document cannot be called a Will.

Guardian for Minors: If the Testator wishes to give his property to any beneficiary who is a minor, then definitely he should appoint a guardian who will take care of the minor’s property till the minor attains majority.

Executor of the Will: The Testator should appoint an Executor to his Will. An Executor is a person who shall implement the Will after the Testator’s death.

Signature and Date: The Will should be clearly dated and signed by the Testator at the place in the document just below the last sentence in the document.

Exclusions: The Testator cannot give any property that is joint family property or ancestral property that is common to many other members too. Such a Will becomes void.

Trust

A trust can be created by not just the high –networth individuals but even by ordinary men and women. The provisions of the Indian Trust Act, 1882 (referred to as “The Act” in this article) governs only private trusts.

Public Trusts are usually governed by state-specific legislation. Eg: The Maharashtra Public Trust Act, 1950. The Indian Trust Act extends to the whole of India except the state of Jammu and Kashmir and Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Further, this act is not applicable to the Waqf, religious or charitable endowments and to a few others.

Parties in a Trust

  • Author/Settlor/Trustor/Donor (Mr X): The person who wants to transfer his property and reposes confidence on another for the creation of the trust.
  • Trustee (Mr Y): The person who accepts the confidence for the creation of the trust
  • Beneficiary (Mr X’s granddaughter): The person who will benefit from the trust in the near future.

A trust may be created by:

  • Every person who is competent to contracts: This includes an individual, AOP, HUF, company, etc.
  • If a trust is to be created by on or behalf of a minor, then the permission of a Principal Civil Court of original jurisdiction is required.

Types of Trusts

  • Private Trusts: A private trust is for a closed group. In other words, the beneficiaries can be identified. eg: A trust created for the relatives and friends of the author.
  • Public Trusts: A public trust is created for a large group, i.e., the public in large. eg: Non-Profit NGO’s Charitable Institutions for the general public.
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