Death of a loved one is always traumatic. Compounding the sorrows is the fact that inheritance related formalities tend to be lengthy and documentation heavy. Having a trusted friend and advisor by one’s side during such trying times can make a big difference.
Here are the stories of two advisors who took over the paperwork and made it easier for their clients to cope with their loss and the challenges of inheritance.
Two sisters and a stack of physical shares
After the death of their parents, two sisters approached Mumbai IFA Raj Awasthi of Kalpataru Wealth Solutions. Raj had been managing their finances for quite some time. They now wanted her to help transfer their parents’ physical shares in their name. The sisters had roughly calculated the total investment value to be around Rs.4 crore. They carried with them 150 physical share certificates, investments their father made over three decades.
Steps Raj took to complete the transfer:
- First segregated the share certificates in three buckets.
- Companies that had shut shop – these share certificates were worthless
- Companies which had merged – had to first exchange them for shares of the new entity
- Companies in existence – directly applied for share transfer
- Simultaneously applied for the legal heirship certificate, as many share certificates did not have a nominee or were jointly held by the parents
- Post that Raj submitted the share transmission form along with necessary documents to each company
- She also opened a demat account for the sisters
- After the share transfer process was complete, she submitted the physical share certificates for dematerialisation
- Barring a few, the sisters sold off most of the stocks and invested the amount in other financial products
The cherry on the cake was that the sisters received Rs.5 crore instead of the Rs. 4 crore they expected from the share transfer.
‘I'll be there for you’
The first client is always special. Kolkata IFA Jitu Dabaria shared a warm bond with his first client so much so that he was the client’s friend, philosopher and guide. The client also trusted Jitu a lot and named him the executioner of his will.
So when the client died within a few years of his wife’s death leaving behind their young son, Jitu stepped in. He was there for the boy through the trying time. Knowing that the boy’s father wanted him to complete his education and grow their dental practice, Jitu asked the boy to focus on his studies and leave all financial formalities to him. Jitu oversaw the entire documentation process; the boy had to just sign the necessary forms and that too when he came home from college.
Steps Jitu took to make the asset transfer a seamless experience for the young boy:
- Jitu first filed the death claims with the insurance company. As the boy dreamt of growing his father's dental practice, Jitu set aside a portion of the money received for expansion of the clinic.
- Next, he started transferring the late client’s mutual fund investments in the son’s name. While some investments had the son as nominee, in others the boy’s mother was still the nominee. In such cases, Jitu submitted the death certificate of the wife, husband, an indemnity bond signed by the boy, affidavit from the boy and legal heir certificate to transfer the mutual fund units.
- He advised the boy to hold the fixed deposit investments and transfer them once they matured.
- Lastly, Jitu started the property transfer process. The late client owned three residential flats. Being the executor of the will, Jitu filed for a probate (certification) from a court. While the process is still ongoing, Jitu is determined to be there for his young client every step of the way.
We salute these IFAs who have gone beyond their call of duty to help their clients.
