In the absence of a Will inheritance of an NRI’s asset is a challenge even for his children

It was quite a complicated situation for the family, when Vishal Oberoi passed away in 2013 in Ontario, Canada; leaving behind his sizable wealth worth millions, without naming the successors of his lifetime earnings and properties.

With three eligible children, two sons – Abhay and Amay and a daughter Ananya, all settled in different geographic locations, it was a herculean, challenging, expensive and a tedious task for the Oberoi kids to reach a settlement over their father’s wealth. They had to hold several rounds of discussions, mostly over phone and video calls barring a few in-person meetings, with multiple moments of anxiety, to amicably share amongst themselves what their dad left behind with no clarity of succession.

Oberoi who had moved to Canada in 1995, had deposits in multiple banks, investments in mutual funds, shares, several immovable assets involving a bungalow and flats – both in India and abroad, few land parcels in their native place, Ludhiana.

All these assets were left behind with no Will or even any mention of who will get what. The issue became even more complicated as Oberoi’s wife had passed away in 2011 after being diagnosed with a terminal illness.

It took several years before the heirs could reach a settlement over the inheritance; after sorting out their claims, spending huge sums in legal proceedings and multi-national processes, air travels and paying consultancy charges to lawyers. Of course, the whole process was so tedious that the…