NRIWallah team
Updated
October 2026
· 3 min read
Most NRIs have their tax and investments in order long before they have a will where they live. It is the document that keeps getting postponed, and its absence falls hardest on the people it was meant to protect.
What happens without a local will
If you die in England or Wales without a will, the law decides who inherits, and the result may not be what you would have chosen. An unmarried partner, for example, inherits nothing under those rules, however long you have lived together.
Children are the bigger worry. If both parents die without naming a guardian, a court decides who will bring the children up. That takes time, and grandparents, uncles or aunts in India have no automatic right to step in, however willing they are. A will lets you name the guardian yourself.
One will for each country
An Indian will is not worthless abroad. In England and Wales, for example, a will can be formally valid if it follows the law of the place where it was signed, or of the country where you were domiciled, habitually resident or a national. The practical problem is using it: proving a foreign will through local probate means translations, extra court steps and delay, while your family waits.
The usual answer for NRIs is two wills. A local will covers your assets in your country of residence and names guardians for your children; an Indian will covers your assets in India. Each needs to be drafted so that signing one does not revoke the other.
For UK residents who keep an Indian domicile (a status HMRC tests closely), the separate Indian will matters for tax as well. The 1956 UK-India estate duty treaty can keep Indian property out of UK inheritance tax, but not where that property passes under a will governed by English law. Our guide to NRI inheritance and gift tax explains the conditions.
Keeping the paperwork consistent
Your wills decide who gets what; any life insurance you hold decides whether there is enough to go around. Check that the beneficiaries on your policies, pensions and bank accounts match what your wills say, and review everything after a marriage, a birth, a divorce or a move between countries. Tell your executors where the wills are kept.
For a UK will and LPA, NRIWallah works with Octopus Legal (affiliate link), which offers NRIWallah readers 10% off simple and standard wills with the code NRIWALLAH10, or a consultation on +44 20 45253605. For an Indian will, VakilSearch (affiliate link) offers 20% off a first will. Both are partner links; see how we make money.
Lasting Power of Attorney
A will only takes effect when you die. A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) covers the time before that, by letting people you choose make decisions for you.
There are two kinds. A health and welfare LPA only takes effect if you lose the mental capacity to decide for yourself, after a stroke, a serious accident or dementia, for example. A property and financial affairs LPA can be used as soon as it is registered, with your permission, which makes it closer to the power of attorney NRIs often give a relative in India.
Without an LPA, your family would have to apply to the Court of Protection to be appointed as your deputy, which is slower and more expensive. An LPA has to be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian before it can be used, and it is easiest to arrange at the same time as your will.
