NRI Succession Planning & Will

Yes — recommended practice is to have a separate will for Indian assets and a separate will for each foreign jurisdiction where assets are held. A single worldwide will creates probate complications — courts in each country must validate it, and some jurisdictions require a locally executed will. The Indian will should be executed under the Indian Succession Act 1925 (for non-Hindus) or the applicable personal law.

An HUF is a tax entity available to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, and Jain families — including NRIs of these communities. NRI members can be coparceners. On return, the HUF is a useful vehicle for segregating ancestral property income from personal income. However, NRIs cannot open HUF accounts — the HUF itself must be resident in India for the account to be NRO or savings. The HUF PAN can be obtained from India.

Yes — Section 6(5) of FEMA (Non-Resident) Regulations allows a person resident outside India to repatriate assets inherited from a person resident in India or a person resident outside India. Repatriation limit: USD 1 million per financial year, subject to applicable taxes paid. Requires Form 15CA/15CB certificate from a CA. Immovable property inheritance: can be held or sold; sale proceeds repatriable within the USD 1M limit.

For immovable property in India, Indian law governs succession regardless of the NRI's domicile abroad. Hindu NRIs: Hindu Succession Act 1956. Muslim NRIs: personal law (Hanafi/Shafii school as applicable). Christian, Parsi, or other community NRIs: Indian Succession Act 1925. The NRI's foreign will can be admitted to probate in India but must comply with the local Indian succession law applicable to the community.

An NRI can gift Indian assets to a resident close relative (as defined in Section 2(77) Companies Act) — exemption under Schedule III of FEMA (Non-Resident) Regulations. Gift to non-relative from NRO account is subject to LRS limit (USD 250,000/year). Gift to a non-resident: treated as remittance — requires RBI approval for amounts exceeding regulatory thresholds. The recipient, if resident, is taxable on gift value under Section 56(2)(x) if above ₹50,000 and from a non-relative.