Soon after his retirement, Prasun Sharma distributed all his savings into multiple investment instruments. From FDs and insurances to post office schemes and stocks, his portfolio was well-balanced, with his sons and wife as nominees. However, assuming death was years away, neither did he consolidate everything nor write a will. But life had other plans, and after a sudden brain haemorrhage, Prasun passed away. Soon after the initial mourning, it was time to do the rounds of banks and figure out his savings. The sons, both of whom lived outstation for work, discovered it was a riddle that would take years to solve. Their mother having no clue of anything was the final nail in the coffin.
Indian households and trust issues
How many of us are familiar with this situation? If reports are to be believed, only 2-3% of Indians make a will during their lifetime to ensure their properties are in the right hands after their death. An even lesser number of people create a portfolio to consolidate everything. Most others believe death can be delayed forever and do not bother to discuss their assets with family members. But have you ever wondered why this apathy towards such an important life decision? It is not that you don’t know the importance of jotting down everything in one place or at least keeping your families updated about your savings. The truth is, you prefer to delay it for any of the following reasons: patriarchy, trust issues, living in denial, and the like.
Despite evolving with time, most Indian households are still steeped in patriarchy, knowingly or unknowingly. Even if some families boast of treating female members with equal respect, when it comes to property and financial decisions, many feel it is the man’s domain. Sometimes, the belief is so deeply ingrained that even working women go to their husbands or fathers for all money matters. The mindset bars male members from treating their wives worthy of this discussion, while the wives prefer to believe math and finances are not their domain. If we take Prasun’s example, he was not consciously patriarchal. But it was an unsaid code in the house that when it comes to money or property, only he would know and decide.
There can also be a possibility where you steer away from talking about properties with family for fear of being cheated — what if your children force you to give away everything and mistreat you? Well, such instances are not uncommon, but it doesn’t mean you need to hide things from your families. A little bit of planning and putting everything in a portfolio can be enough to make things easier.
Living in denial that death is inevitable and can come in any form at any time is common. There’s no better example than the pandemic when thousands of people lost their lives much ahead of time. None of them deserved to go so early, but death can’t be predicted. Refusing to accept the unavoidable leads a lot of people (like Prasun) to never discuss their wealth with any family member, not even eager-to-help children. We all know we need to have the discussion but keep pushing it, thinking there’s still time until there’s no time left.
The ‘talk’ is necessary if you want to save your family from never-ending trips to courts, municipalities, banks, lawyers, and brokers. You can start by creating a profile on a platform like EasyInherit and get a portfolio with information about your assets. Involve your family in the process and take a positive step to secure their future.
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