I am a digital content creator with Meta. With much of my work and identity existing online, how can I safeguard my digital assets and ensure they’re properly addressed in my Will?
– Name withheld on request
In India, there is currently no specific legal framework for digital estate planning or for the inheritance of digital assets such as emails, social media, and cloud storage. The Indian Succession Act, 1925 governs the transfer of physical, movable, and immovable property, but does not address ownership, control, or transmission of digital assets after death.
You can, however, include digital assets in your Will, granting Executors and Beneficiaries the right to access and manage them. It’s advisable to maintain an inventory of all digital assets and access instructions in your Will, with clear directions on how each should be managed, transferred, or deleted.
Some global platforms, such as Apple and Facebook, now allow users to appoint a “legacy contact” to manage their accounts after death.
For security reasons, passwords and login credentials should not be included in the Will itself. Instead, they can be stored in a separate document or secure digital vault, with the Will making a reference to this arrangement for the Executor’s guidance.
I am a patriarch looking to set up a private trust registered in India. I have two children who are Non-Resident Indians (NRIs). Can my children, being NRIs, be named as beneficiaries of the trust?
— Name withheld on request
Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) and RBI regulations do not recognize a ‘Trust’ as a separate legal person, and there are no specific provisions under FEMA governing private trusts.
When an Indian resident settles Indian assets into a trust for non-resident beneficiaries, such transfers are treated as gifts to non-residents. Hence, the permissibility of such a structure depends on the underlying rules governing gifts or inheritances to NRIs, based on the nature of the assets proposed to be transferred.
For instance, an Indian resident can gift an immovable property to an NRI. However, if a gift or inheritance is not permitted directly under FEMA, it cannot be routed indirectly through a trust, since the trust structure cannot be used to secure any regulatory advantage not otherwise available.
Further, any distribution of trust income to NRI beneficiaries is subject to the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) limits — up to $250,000 per financial year during the settlor’s lifetime and $1 million per financial year thereafter (deemed inheritance).
Rohit Jain, managing partner, and Keshav Singhania, head – private client, Singhania & Co.
