Young Nominee Are Best Option For Your Investments!

If you have more than one beneficiary and you want to ensure all of them get an equal share of your assets then—certified financial planner Malhar Majumder suggests — you should write down your assets and liabilities. “This helps you to be aware of your total assets, which most people aren’t even aware of. It also shows is the amount being nominated and to whom. You can then take a call on changing the nomination if you want to,” said Majumder.

While a nominee need not necessarily be the legal heir, in India, most nominees are heirs. You could also decide based on the investment instrument. For instance, in the case of equity investments, a nominee is considered to be the legal heir and not just a trustee. Hence, you may want to nominate your legal heir on equity investments. This can be changed only if there is a will in place and it says that the money needs to go to someone else.

Similarly, some instruments like the mutual funds allow more than one nominee. In such cases, it is a good idea to clarify the proportion in which the money needs to be distributed between the different beneficiaries, say between a spouse and two heirs. If you can appoint only one nominee it is a good idea to opt for your spouse.

Despite everything, it is helpful to have a will to support the nomination. This has additional benefits. It helps apprise the nominee or the guardian about who is the nominee, who is the heir and what to do with the money, especially if the heir or nominee is underage, said Majumder.