A Will is a crucial legal document made by a person (Testator), which contains instructions to ensure that his assets are distributed as per his wishes after his death. A Will comes into effect after a person’s demise.
Find answers to our most commonly asked questions here.
Witnesses should be adults, i.e. above 18 years of age. It is preferred that your Witnesses should be younger to you so they can survive you if they are needed to testify the Will after your death. It is important to note that a Witness should not be a Beneficiary in your Will.
Yes, the Succession Laws are different depending on the religion of the deceased person. For instance – The Hindu Succession Act 1956 shall be applicable if you are a Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, or Jain. Similarly, The Indian Succession Act, 1925 is applicable if you are a Christian or Parsi, and the Muslim principles of inheritance apply if you are a Muslim (there are different rules for Shia, Sunni, Khoja, etc.) At Yellow, we have subject matter experts who are well versed to advise on each of the different succession laws.
You can amend/make a new Will as many times as you want. It is important to keep your Will updated at all times. If you do not update your Will after major life events, it may not reflect your wishes under new circumstances. Typically, you must consider making necessary changes to the Will after major life events e.g. marriage, divorce, childbirth, change of mind about legal heirs, acquisition or disposition of assets, change of Executor, death of named Beneficiaries, etc. When you make a new Will it will render all previous Wills null and void.
Aside from these major life events, it is advisable to review your Will once a year and make any changes you deem necessary.
Absolutely! The Yellow app guides you through a series of steps to make your Will-creation journey quick and easy. You are not signing anything digitally - the app helps you generate a hard copy that needs to be physically signed by you and your Witnesses to make it legally valid.
Making a Will on Yellow has its advantages. You can:
A Will should be signed in the presence of at least two Witnesses. Once the Will has been signed by the Testator, the Witnesses must add their signatures in the Testator’s presence. The purpose of having a Witness is to ensure that the Testator has the mental capacity and intent to make a Will. He or she should be able to testify this fact before the court, should the Will get challenged.
In the absence of a Will, a Succession Certificate/ Legal Heir Certificate must be obtained from Court in case of movable properties only. If the deceased has left behind immovable property, then Letters of Administration are required to be obtained.
After you change your Will, it is suggested that you destroy the hard copies of any previous Wills. Though the previous Wills are no longer legally enforceable, destroying them will ensure that there is no scope for debate or confusion in the future.
You can trigger a demise event by scanning the QR code located on the cover page of the deceased’s Will or directly from within the app if you have accepted a role in their Will. Alternatively, you can reach out to us at helpdesk@getyellow.in or call us on 80500 73434.
Your security is our top priority. At Yellow, we deploy the highest level of security checks, at par with industry best practices. We use AES-256 bit encryption (a cipher approved by the US National Security Agency to protect classified information). All communication is secured from your browser to our service with SSL-encryption. We use the Google Cloud platform, the most reliable platform for hosting data and signed URLs for storing images. We also want to assure you that, since our services are chargeable (unlike other free platforms!), we don’t need to sell your data to any third parties to make commercial gains. We'll never use your data for anything other than creating and generating your Will without your permission. Visit https://getyellow.in/security for more information.
You can cancel/revoke your Will at any point in time in the following ways:
Creating an account with Yellow is extremely simple. Download the Yellow app on sign up online at https://plan.getyellow.in/register. Enter your mobile number and the 6-digit OTP you receive. To create your profile, you will need to provide some basic details, such as your name, date of birth, and email address.
A Will should include the details of your family, assets, liabilities, Beneficiaries, an Executor, the names of two Witnesses, and the date and place of signing the Will. If you have minor children, you should also appoint a trusted Guardian. Yellow makes it easy to create a Will by handling all the legal details, allowing you to focus on what’s important: protecting the people closest to you.
Yes, ownership as a proprietor in a proprietorship firm or shares owned in a company can be bequeathed in a Will. For share in a partnership firm/ LLP as a Partner, it is allowed to be bequeathed subject to conditions, if any, in the Partnership Deed.
At any point after the Will has been signed, you can register your Will at the local Sub Registrar’s office (SRO) in the presence of the Sub-Registrar for a nominal fee. To register your Will, you have to personally visit the SRO along with two witnesses and carry your original Will. It is not necessary for these witnesses to be the same as those who signed your Will. Yellow can also help you to get your Will registered. Do contact us at helpdesk@getyellow.in or call us at +91 80500 73434 for more details.
It is important to note that, in a Will, it is possible to distribute only those assets which a person owns at the time of his/her demise. However, new assets received or acquired by the person after the Will is written can easily be covered under a section of the Will dealing with Future Assets. Those assets that were missed out or which cannot be described at all can easily be covered under a section of the Will dealing with Residual Assets. Yellow’s comprehensive Will draft provides for a clause on Residual and Future Assets, wherein these aspects are taken care of. It is also a good practice to review your Will every year and, whenever there is a significant change in your asset holdings or family, update it as required.
A Demise Event should be triggered when the Testator of a Yellow Will has passed away. Yellow will take steps to verify the details and provide all concerned parties with the information they need regarding the funeral arrangements (if this was provided), and the Will itself, in a timely manner. If you need any further help with the transmission of assets, you can always reach out to us at helpdesk@getyellow.in or call us on 80500 73434. We will be happy to help.
Unfortunately, once your KYC has been completed, you can’t change your name on the app. You can, however, reach out to our Customer Support team if you have gone through a legal name change.
Your email ID and address can be easily updated on the app. Simply go to Profile/Update Contact Details -> Contact Details -> Email ID -> Edit
If you die without a Will the applicable Succession Laws take effect. These Succession Laws, depending on your religion and gender, specify what proportion of assets will be passed on to stipulated family members. This distribution may not be in accordance with what your wishes may have been. Court processes in the absence of a Will also result in lengthy delays before your loved ones receive their inheritances.
An Executor is a person who is nominated by the Testator to carry out the instructions as per the Will. An Executor should be above 18 years of age. Your Executor can be any trusted person like a family friend, spouse, children, lawyer, CA or any professional, who can be relied upon to execute your Will. You should always seek the consent of the person you nominate as your Executor to avoid the potential of him/her declining the responsibility of acting as an Executor after your demise.
Probate is a legal certificate issued by a court of law in certain cities (Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata) after the validity of the final Will is proved. An Executor nominated under the Will can apply for probate post the lifetime of the Testator (ie, the person writing the Will). Once the court grants the probate or certifies the Will, the Executor is entitled to take the necessary steps to enforce the Will. Certain situations require Probate, and when there are many immovable properties or the assets are of high value, Probate may be insisted upon before the title of owner is changed to avoid any disputes in the future.
When a demise event is triggered, the Testator’s death certificate and any other supporting documentation must be uploaded onto the app. We require 48 hours to verify the documents provided and confirm the demise event. Once confirmed, The Will details are released to all concerned parties to start the process of asset transfer.
Life is uncertain and sadly we are all aware of instances of untimely death. Globally, people buying life insurance policies at the young age of 25 or even earlier is becoming the new norm. Similarly, once you turn 18 years of age and own even a single asset (residential properties, Insurance Policy, bank account, shares, ESOPs, etc.) making a Will should become a way of life. Making a Will is a simple and effective way to protect the interests of those most important to you and you can always amend it as and when your life situation changes.
No, as of today, any property received under the Will does not attract any tax including capital gains tax. In the past, there was an Estate Duty tax which was abolished in the year 1985. That said, income arising from such inherited assets will attract income tax as these assets are owned by the recipient.
We have a controlled data room where the printing takes place. Only authorised personnel have access to this facility. Yellow has executed contracts with all employees, who are bound by non-disclosure obligations. These employees are bound by law not to disclose any information pertaining to customers.
One can bequeath pets, paintings, antiques, electronic items, furniture & fixtures, Intellectual properties like Trademark, Patents, Copyrights, Licenses, digital assets, Social Media Accounts, Personal Belongings, Books, etc. through a Will.
Picking the right Executor can help ensure the prompt, accurate distribution of your estate while minimising the potential for conflict and objections. Hence, you should keep the following things in mind while choosing your Executor:
The role of the Executor is one of great responsibility, and hence it is crucial to choose your Executor wisely. It is strongly advised to appoint someone you trust, who is capable, and ideally younger than you. It is also a good idea to provide a backup Executor in case the person who was your first preference for this role is no longer available to perform his/her duties as per your Will.
Ancestral property which is co-owned by all family members cannot be bequeathed under a Will. However, once a co-parcener (a person having an interest in the ancestral property) acquires his share in the ancestral property (ie, on partition), that can be bequeathed by a Will.
Properties situated in foreign countries are governed by local laws in those countries and the procedure to enforce a Will in such countries could be different from that of India. Therefore, it is advisable to prepare separate Wills for each jurisdiction to avoid any delay or hassles in the transfer of assets to the Beneficiaries.
While you could appoint more than one Executor, it is always advisable to minimise the number of Executors to avoid conflicting opinions. You can nominate alternate Executors in your preferred order of priority if the person you initially nominated declines or is no longer available to act as an Executor.
Yes, a Will allows you to mention how you would like your digital life to be dealt with. A Will allows you to give a person the authority to access your online accounts. We create a secure digital locker for your online credentials, which will be shared only with your Digital Guardian upon your demise.
It is advisable to store your Will at a safe and secure location where your family can easily find it after your death. Never keep a Will in your own bank locker, as access to the locker will not be possible without furnishing the original Will. It may be kept in the safe custody of a trusted person or with professionals like custody agents, bankers, or solicitors who will take the necessary steps to inform the executor after your death.
Since under current Indian law, the physically executed Will is the only legally valid copy, safekeeping of your Will is of the utmost importance as it will also ensure that a disgruntled Beneficiary, natural disaster, or other event does not destroy the Will. In the event that this happens, it will be deemed that you have died intestate (i.e. without a Will). Your assets will then be disposed to your legal heirs as per the applicable Succession Laws.
The Executor and Beneficiaries must be informed about the place where the Will has been kept; the Yellow app can store the copy of the Will and the location information securely and release it to your Executor and Beneficiaries upon proof of your demise.
If you choose a family member or friend to be the Executor of your Will, they may not charge a fee. All expenses required to administer the estate will be deducted first, prior to any distributions made to the beneficiaries. If you choose a professional Executor, then a portion of your estate may be charged as fees.
Yellow Smart is available for all new users up to age 70. If your parents are beyond that age, please contact our helpdesk on 80500 73434 to get a customised plan for your parents.
It is a misconceived notion in our society that Will making is meant solely for the elderly. The recent pandemic has taught us that life is uncertain, and just like you would take out an insurance policy to protect against some of that uncertainty, it is good financial hygiene to draw up a Will in order to safeguard the interests of loved ones; especially those who are financially dependent on you.
There is no such requirement under law. However, as a good practice, it may be advisable to obtain a medical certificate from a doctor mentioning that you were in good health and of sound mind at the time of writing the Will. This certificate may be kept on record along with the Will.
Pictures are a good way to make sure your belongings are easily identified. The Yellow app does allow for multiple images to be uploaded - however, users should note that, in the final printed Will document, only the first image uploaded will appear. If you are grouping assets together for distribution (eg five paintings), you can upload a single image with all five paintings in it.
Our team of experts in Indian Succession Law and Will-drafting have more than 50 years of combined experience at major firms, such as Kotak, Khaitan & Co, and Warmond Trustees. They are extremely knowledgeable on all things succession planning, having specialised in the field. They will surely be able to get you the answers you need.
As per Indian laws, a nominee is only a trustee, i.e. a nominee only holds assets on behalf of the beneficiary. Following the demise, the nominee does not become the rightful owner. Instead, a nominee will only act as the trustee of the assets until the legal heir(s) is/are established as per the Will or as per the applicable Succession Laws in the absence of a Will. Thereafter, the nominee has to transfer the properties to the rightful legal heirs. Note that a Nominee can also be a legal heir as determined by the Will or applicable Succession Laws.
It is not uncommon to gift some amount of assets to children, especially on completing important life milestones such as marriage, etc. However, a gift cannot be a substitute for a Will because you will always have some assets reserved for yourself such as the home you live in, bank account deposits, etc. to take care of your needs during your lifetime. Though it is alright to gift a small portion of your assets, gifting your entire estate during your lifetime could have unfavourable results, as has been seen in the Singhania family (Raymond Group). Therefore, gifting everything you own may not always be ideal. When you write a Will, it means that you have complete control over your assets during your lifetime.
Yes, your Will is valid even without these fields being filled in. However, we strongly recommend that you add in as much detail about your important people as possible, to make it easier for your Executor to execute your estate properly.
At Yellow, we have a dedicated team of trained professionals to address all your queries. Please reach out to our Helpdesk for any questions that you may have. You can Chat with us (on mobile and website), call us on 805 007 3434, or email us at helpdesk@getyellow.in.
It is common for children to be unaware of the assets owned by parents. In fact, a Will can be a great tool to list all your assets and provide the names and details of the person to whom you would like to pass on each asset; i.e., think of a Will like an asset register. Being overseas, your children may also be unfamiliar with the various legal processes in India that need to be undertaken after a demise. A Will can ensure that your intended heirs can benefit from your assets, as per your wishes in your Will. From this perspective, your choice of Executor is another key point to carefully think through.
A Living Will is a declaration stating the person’s wishes regarding the use of life-prolonging medical treatments if he/she is not in a condition to communicate his/her wishes to the family or medical practitioners. It does not dispose of property nor is it operational after death like a Will. It must be noted that a Living Will is not legally enforceable in India. It only provides guidance to your loved ones and near of kin by stating your wishes regarding the administration of medical treatment.
Indian inheritance laws differ based on a person's religion. Therefore, in order to make your Will robust and give you the most relevant information for your specific needs, we ask about the religion you belong to. However, this is optional.
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