A few years ago, a friend told me about two brothers who had stopped speaking to each other. The reason was not a business dispute or a long-standing family feud. It was their late father’s house.
The father had spent decades building that home. He worked hard, saved diligently and ensured his children had a comfortable life. Yet he left one important task unfinished, i.e., he never wrote a Will.
Within months of his passing, the children who had grown up together found themselves on opposite sides of an inheritance dispute. Lawyers stepped in. Court visits became routine. Family gatherings stopped. The property remained locked while relationships slowly fell apart.
Sadly, this is not an isolated story.
Most of us have witnessed similar situations, either within our own families or among relatives, neighbours and friends. A parent dies, leaving behind a lifetime of wealth but no clear instructions on who should inherit what. Children who once stood by each other can then over a house, land, jewellery, bank deposits or a family business.
What should have been a legacy of security becomes a source of conflict. And yet, despite seeing these stories play out time and again, most Indians continue to avoid making a Will.
It is almost as if India has no will for a Will.
Indians today are wealthier than ever before.
We are buying homes, investing in mutual funds, building stock portfolios, acquiring businesses and creating assets that previous generations could only dream of. Yet while we have become increasingly sophisticated about creating wealth, we remain surprisingly reluctant to plan what happens to it after we are gone.
A recent study by 1 Finance Magazine highlights this uncomfortable reality.
The findings are striking.
Nearly 84.8% of respondents do not have a Will. Even more concerning, 62.5% have no plans to make one. Only 15.2% currently have a Will in place.
These figures suggest that estate planning is not merely being postponed. In many households, it is barely entering the conversation at all.
The study also found that nearly half of respondents have never discussed Wills or succession planning with their families. The silence surrounding inheritance appears to be almost as significant as the absence of Wills themselves.
Death remains one of India’s biggest conversational taboos.
Many people believe discussing a Will is somehow inviting bad luck. Others assume there is plenty of time. Some think their children will “sort things out” when the time comes.
That assumption is often dangerously misplaced.
As Ashish Nasa, MD and CEO of Universal Trustees (a firm specialising in estate and succession planning), points out, many Indians still believe estate planning is only for retirees, the elderly or families with complicated relationships.
“People believe building wealth is more important than planning how that wealth will be passed on,” he says.
But modern families are far more complex than before. Assets now include investments, insurance policies, businesses, digital assets and sometimes even overseas holdings.
Without proper documentation, transferring these assets can become a legal and emotional nightmare for those left behind, he says.
Another widespread misconception is that Wills are only necessary for the rich.
Nasa disagrees.
“A Will is not a document just for the elderly or wealthy,” he says. “The best time to write a Will isn’t when you feel old. The best time is when you have something to protect and people to provide for.”
That message is particularly relevant for younger Indians who may already own a home, have investments, run businesses or support ageing parents and young children.
A Will is not about the size of your wealth.
It is about providing clarity for the people who may one day depend on it.
Many Indians continue to believe that nominees automatically become the final owners of assets. Others assume that drafting a will is a complicated legal exercise reserved for the wealthy.
Then there is perhaps the most dangerous assumption of all, i.e., the belief that there is always time.
“It is a common misconception that Wills are just for the rich,” Nasa says.
In reality, anyone with assets and dependants has a reason to think about succession planning.
Life rarely follows a predictable timetable. Estate planning, therefore, is less about preparing for death and more about preparing for life’s uncertainties.
A Will is often viewed as a legal document.
In reality, it is a family document.
It is a declaration of intent.
It tells loved ones what matters to you. It reduces uncertainty. It minimises misunderstandings. Most importantly, it helps preserve relationships when emotions are running high.
As Nasa puts it, a Will cannot remove grief, but it can remove doubt.
And sometimes, that distinction can save families from years of conflict.
When we think about inheritance, we usually think about money.
A house.
A bank balance.
Gold.
Investments.
But perhaps the most valuable inheritance is certainty.
The certainty that loved ones will not be forced into disputes over assets.
The certainty that relationships built over a lifetime will not be sacrificed over questions of ownership.
India’s wealth story is one of remarkable progress. Millions of families have spent decades creating assets intended to benefit future generations.
But wealth creation is only one half of the story.
The other is deciding what happens to that wealth when we are no longer here.
That is why the most important financial document in many Indian households today may not be another investment plan, insurance policy or tax-saving instrument.
It is a simple Will.
Not because it prepares us for death, but because it helps protect the people who will continue living after us.