Private Clients & Family Wealth
Private client practice concerns the ordering, transmission and protection of personal and family wealth, including succession planning, testamentary documentation, trusts, and the governance of family-owned businesses. Sagar & Sagar Law Offices advises individuals and families on wills, private trusts, family settlements and estate structuring, acts in probate, letters of administration and succession certificate proceedings, and advises on the separation of family and business interests. Work covers both planning undertaken during lifetime and proceedings arising after death or on disagreement within a family.
Overview
Succession in India is governed by personal law as much as by general statute. Which regime applies to an individual's estate depends on the individual's religion and, in some cases, on the nature and location of the property. The Indian Succession Act, 1925 governs testamentary succession generally and intestate succession for some communities; the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 governs intestate succession for others; Muslim personal law applies its own rules, including limits on testamentary disposition. Coparcenary property, agricultural land and property held in different states each add further variation.
The consequence is that an estate left without planning frequently devolves in a way the deceased did not intend, and often to the accompaniment of litigation between family members. The practice at Sagar & Sagar Law Offices addresses this on both sides: structuring undertaken during lifetime — wills, trusts, family arrangements and business governance documentation — and representation in contentious and non-contentious proceedings once an estate falls into administration or a family disagreement arises.
Scope of work
Matrimonial and maintenance matters
Matters arising from marriage, separation and maintenance obligations.
- Maintenance and alimony proceedings
- Matrimonial proceedings
- Custody and guardianship of children
- Mutual consent divorce
Wills and testamentary documentation
Instruments directing how an estate is to devolve.
- Advice on the succession regime applicable to an individual and to particular assets
- Drafting of wills, including wills disposing of assets in more than one jurisdiction
- Advice on execution, attestation and the formalities required for validity
- Advice on registration of wills and on its evidentiary consequences
- Drafting of codicils and periodic review of existing testamentary documents
- Advice on testamentary guardianship of minor children
- Advice on bequests to charity and on charitable dispositions
- Advice on limits on testamentary disposition under applicable personal law
- Safekeeping arrangements and advice on custody of testamentary documents
- Advice on nomination and its relationship to succession
Private trusts and wealth structuring
Structures through which assets are held and transmitted.
- Advice on the use of private trusts for succession and asset protection
- Formation of private trusts, including discretionary and specific trusts
- Drafting of trust deeds, letters of wishes and ancillary documentation
- Advice on selection of trustees, protectors and their respective powers
- Advice on tax treatment applicable to trusts and to distributions
- Advice on transfer of assets into trust and on the consequences of doing so
- Advice on holding structures for family assets, including companies and limited liability partnerships
- Advice on succession to shareholdings and to business interests
- Advice on structuring for family members resident outside India
- Restructuring, variation and termination of existing trusts
Family settlements and arrangements
Consensual resolution of family entitlements.
- Advice on family settlements and family arrangements
- Drafting of settlement deeds and memoranda of family arrangement
- Advice on partition of Hindu undivided family property and on coparcenary rights
- Advice on the position of daughters and of successors under applicable personal law
- Advice on the stamp duty and registration treatment of settlement documentation
- Negotiation and mediation of family disputes concerning property and entitlements
- Advice on release, relinquishment and gift as alternatives to settlement
- Documentation recording separation of jointly held assets and business interests
Probate, administration and estate proceedings
Proceedings arising after death.
- Applications for probate of a will
- Applications for letters of administration where there is no will or no executor
- Applications for succession certificates in respect of debts and securities
- Advice on whether probate is required, having regard to the applicable law and jurisdiction
- Representation in contentious probate proceedings
- Caveats and opposition to grants
- Challenges to wills, including on grounds of testamentary capacity, undue influence and suspicious circumstances
- Defence of wills against challenge
- Advice to executors and administrators on their duties and liabilities
- Administration of estates, including collection, realisation and distribution of assets
- Disputes between beneficiaries and personal representatives
Family business governance and succession
Separation of ownership, management and family relationships.
- Advice on succession to management and to ownership of family businesses
- Drafting of family constitutions and family charters
- Advice on family councils and on governance forums
- Shareholders' agreements between family members
- Advice on transfer restrictions, pre-emption rights and exit mechanisms within families
- Advice on the position of family members not active in the business
- Advice on professionalisation of management and on board composition
- Advice on separation of family branches and on demerger of business interests
- Advice on treatment of family businesses in wills and trust structures
- Resolution of disputes between family shareholders, including through mediation
Cross-border and non-resident matters
Estates and families with connections outside India.
- Advice on succession to Indian assets held by persons resident outside India
- Advice on acquisition, holding and transfer of immovable property in India by non-residents
- Advice on repatriation of inheritance proceeds and applicable exchange control requirements
- Advice on interaction between Indian wills and testamentary documents made abroad
- Advice on recognition of foreign grants and on ancillary proceedings in India
- Advice on residence and its consequences for wealth structuring
- Coordination with foreign advisers on multi-jurisdictional estates
Personal protection and elder matters
Arrangements for incapacity, care and personal circumstances.
- Powers of attorney, including general and specific instruments, and advice on their limits
- Advice on arrangements for management of affairs during incapacity
- Advice on guardianship of minors and of persons unable to manage their affairs
- Advice on advance directives and on nominated representatives under mental healthcare legislation
- Advice on maintenance and welfare entitlements of parents and senior citizens
- Proceedings under legislation providing for maintenance and protection of senior citizens
- Advice on protection of vulnerable family members within estate structures
Philanthropy and charitable structures
Structures through which families give.
- Advice on choice of vehicle for charitable activity, including trusts, societies and companies established for charitable purposes
- Formation and registration of charitable entities
- Advice on registration for tax exemption and on donor deduction entitlements
- Advice on obligations applicable to receipt of foreign contributions
- Governance and compliance advice for family foundations
- Advice on corporate social responsibility arrangements connected to family businesses
Forums and authorities
- Family Courts constituted under the Family Courts Act, 1984
- District Courts and High Courts exercising testamentary and intestate jurisdiction
- Civil Courts, in partition, declaration and title proceedings
- Sub-Registrars, in registration of testamentary and settlement documentation
- Tribunals constituted under legislation for maintenance and welfare of senior citizens
- National Company Law Tribunal, in family company disputes
- Authorities administering registration of charitable entities and foreign contribution requirements
- Arbitral tribunals and mediators, in family dispute resolution
- Supreme Court of India
Who we act for
- Individuals in matrimonial, maintenance and custody proceedings
- Individuals and families undertaking succession planning
- Promoters and founders of family-owned businesses
- Executors, administrators and trustees
- Beneficiaries under wills and trusts
- Family members in disputes concerning inheritance and property
- Persons resident outside India holding assets in India
- Family offices and their advisers
- Charitable trusts, foundations and their trustees
- Guardians and persons responsible for the affairs of others
How we approach this work
Applicable regime determined before documents are drafted.
Personal law, the nature of the property and its location together determine what can be disposed of and how. That assessment precedes drafting rather than following it.
Documents drafted to withstand challenge.
Wills and settlements are frequently contested by those they disappoint. Execution, attestation, contemporaneous record and internal consistency are attended to on the footing that the document will be scrutinised after the maker is unavailable to explain it.
Family and business interests addressed together.
Where the principal asset is a business, succession documentation and shareholding arrangements are drafted as one exercise, since inconsistency between a will and a shareholders' agreement is a common source of dispute.
Discretion.
Matters in this practice concern private family circumstances and are conducted accordingly.
Frequently asked questions
- Which law governs succession to my estate in India?
- Succession in India is governed by personal law and by general statute according to the individual concerned. The Indian Succession Act, 1925 governs testamentary succession generally, and intestate succession for certain communities; the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 governs intestate succession for Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs; Muslim personal law applies its own rules. The nature and location of particular assets may also affect the position.
- Does a will need to be registered in India?
- Registration of a will is optional under Indian law, and an unregistered will is not invalid for that reason. Registration provides evidentiary advantages and reduces the scope for allegations of fabrication, but does not by itself establish validity, which depends on due execution and attestation and on the testator's capacity and free will.
- Is probate always required?
- Whether probate is required depends on the applicable law, on the community of the testator and on the jurisdiction in which the assets lie, as the Indian Succession Act, 1925 makes probate mandatory in specified circumstances and areas. Where probate is not mandatory, it may still be sought where institutions holding assets require a grant before acting.
- What is the difference between probate, letters of administration and a succession certificate?
- Probate is a grant certifying a will and confirming the executor's authority. Letters of administration are granted where there is no will, or where a will exists but no executor is available to act. A succession certificate is granted in respect of debts and securities of a deceased person and does not determine title to other property.
- On what grounds can a will be challenged?
- Common grounds include want of testamentary capacity, absence of due execution or attestation, undue influence or coercion, fraud, and the existence of suspicious circumstances surrounding execution which the propounder of the will is required to dispel. The burden and standard applicable vary with the ground raised and with the circumstances established.
- What is a family settlement and does it require registration?
- A family settlement is an arrangement among family members resolving competing claims to property, generally with the object of preserving family harmony. Where the instrument itself creates or transfers rights in immovable property it ordinarily requires registration, whereas a memorandum merely recording an arrangement already effected may stand differently. The distinction is one of substance rather than of the title given to the document.
- Can a private trust be used for succession planning in India?
- Private trusts are recognised under the Indian Trusts Act, 1882 and are used to hold and transmit family assets, including for continuity of control, provision for beneficiaries over time, and management during incapacity. Tax treatment differs according to the nature of the trust and its terms, and transfer of assets into trust carries its own consequences, which are assessed before the structure is settled.
- Can a person resident outside India inherit property in India?
- Persons resident outside India may inherit immovable property in India, subject to the exchange control framework, which regulates acquisition, holding, transfer and repatriation, and which treats agricultural land, plantation property and farmhouses differently from other immovable property. Repatriation of proceeds is subject to the conditions and limits applicable under that framework.
- Is there estate duty or inheritance tax in India?
- India does not presently levy estate duty or inheritance tax. Other tax consequences may nonetheless arise in connection with wealth transfer, including in respect of gifts, income attribution between family members, and capital gains on subsequent disposal of inherited assets, and these are assessed as part of planning.
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