Vulnerable Beneficiaries

Caring for The Ones Left Behind

Mrs. Goyal was worried. She wanted to draw up her Will. At first glance, Mrs. Goyal’s family situation did not seem too complex to merit all that worry. Her only child was an adult and lived close to her mother. In her case, the Will route seemed to be the most efficient solution. But Mrs. Goyal was still worried because she wanted to safeguard her daughter’s interests.

“My daughter is the sole owner of all my property which includes real-estate and a thriving business managed by professionals. I want to ensure that she gets all the benefits. The problem is that I know that my son-in-law is quite wily, and my daughter is too trusting. Can I find a way to get the property in her name after I die and yet ensure my son-in-law doesn’t lay his hands on it? What do I do?”

Vulnerable Beneficiaries Includes…

When we talk of vulnerable beneficiaries, these questions often come up. On the face of it, Mrs. Goyal’s daughter didn’t seem vulnerable. She was an adult, and not too old or incapacitated by any illness that she couldn’t manage her own affairs. Plus, she did not suffer from what common people would call being vulnerable i.e she

did not suffer from any mental or physical disabilities,
did not have significant health issues (chronic/terminal diseases),
was not illiterate
nor did she suffer from any addictions or faced any culture or language barriers.

Yes. The list under the umbrella term ‘vulnerable beneficiaries’ is quite long and include individuals who get easily influenced by other people or addicted to substances or affected by health.

Before we answer this question, let’s visit a common myth while creating an estate plan for vulnerable beneficiaries.

Myth- A Will is enough

Often people mistakenly believe that just writing down your wishes in a Will is enough to ensure that they are executed, but they forget that

A Will’s execution also depends on the executor. For example, if your adult child has a disability but you want to ensure that she gets regular haircuts and visits to the doctor, then you need to plan for it. Usually, in such scenarios, people write down their wishes in a Will. They hope that the act of writing their wish will ensure that it is carried out. This is a wrong belief because these parts of a Will cannot be regulated or ensured by anyone.
A Will can be challenged in court. The wordings of your Will can be challenged by dissatisfied family members suggesting various reasons like lack of testamentary capacity, lack of approval (of the Will) or undue influence claims

Wills are not enough in cases where vulnerable beneficiaries are involved.

So, what can you do to ensure that your vulnerable beneficiaries get the safety you want to provide them?

Steps to help them

Ask the right questions:

Often the right answer seems self-evident, but if we dig deeper, we will find better solutions. The key to finding more efficient solutions is asking the right questions. There are a few questions that can set you on the path to the correct answers to understand where your beneficiary needs help.

a. Does the beneficiary have capacity or do they have other people making decisions on their behalf

b. What are the medical, accommodational and other needs of beneficiary

c. Are there any known undue influences or illnesses/addictions to guard against

d. What is the size of the estate and do you have any other beneficiaries

e. Does the beneficiary have children or spouse to consider.

Each answer will open the way to a better solution.

Use the power of “and”:

Instead of creating just a Will, create a trust structure within a Will to ensure that you have control over who is entrusted with the funds for your loved one.

When you include a provision in your Will to pass an inheritance into a trust, you have the right to select the person who will manage those funds for the best interest of your loved one. A trust also allows you to direct where any residue assets/corpus passes after your vulnerable beneficiary’s death (in case they don’t have capacity to make their own Will.)

Look for contractual solutions:

At times, there could be other legal heirs either within the family or outside who may challenge the Will after the Testator has passed away. To support your vulnerable beneficiary and avoid the hassles of your estate getting stuck in the labyrinth of the Indian court system you can explore entering into a contractual waiver with potential litigants to forego their right to challenge the Will.

This way you could ensure that your vulnerable beneficiary inherits the estate smoothly and quickly, without dispute or hassle.

Thus the critical thing is to think of all the possible solutions and talk to an expert who can help you with scenarios and possibilities. There is a lot that you can do if you know about it.

At Plan My Estate we have a team of experts who can guide and support you through the many could-be solutions to find one that fits your specific needs. In Mrs. Goyal’s case we created a trust which gave a defined amount to her daughter every month and the trustees were reliable family members and a professional.