Case Study: India and UK Estate Planning Challenges

We recently assisted a client who, at 49, had moved from India to the UK 20 years ago. With properties in both countries and no will in place, the situation became quite complex upon his passing.

In the UK, intestacy laws dictated that his spouse received a portion, and the rest was divided among his children. Meanwhile, in India, the Hindu Succession Act led to an equal distribution among the spouse, children, and parents.

Additional complexities arose because the children were minors, meaning their shares in both the UK and India were placed under statutory trusts. Furthermore, the client’s mother-in-law also had a stake in the Indian property, complicating control and distribution.

Moreover, as a long-term UK resident, the Indian assets were subject to UK inheritance tax, and the loss of spouse exemptions led to immediate tax liabilities.

What Went Wrong, and How It Could Have Been Prevented

This situation was totally avoidable! The major issue in this case stemmed from the absence of coordinated cross-border estate planning.

How This Could Have Been Mitigated

With proper planning, the following steps would have fundamentally changed the outcome:

• A coordinated UK & India will strategy: Ensuring assets passed as intended, avoiding intestacy in both jurisdictions and preventing parents or unintended heirs from inheriting by default.
• Preservation of UK spousal exemption: Proper structuring would have allowed Indian assets to pass efficiently to the spouse, avoiding immediate UK inheritance tax on first death.
• Clear segregation of jurisdictional assets: Reducing administrative delays, probate complications, and family disputes across countries.
• Advance tax planning for UK-domiciled / long-term residents: Identifying exposure early and restructuring assets before death, not after.

How Finawis Advisors Helps

This is precisely where Finawis Advisors adds value. We specialise in bespoke international estate planning for Indian families with UK connections, combining:

• UK and India-based offices for seamless cross-border coordination
• Deep expertise in UK inheritance tax, Indian succession laws, and domicile planning
• Drafting and implementation of aligned UK and Indian wills
• Practical execution, not just advice — working with local authorities, registries, and legal counterparts in both countries

If you are an Indian client living in the UK or holding assets in both countries, doing nothing is a decision — and often the most expensive one.

Cross-border estate planning is not optional. It must be intentional, coordinated, and executed correctly.

Finawis Advisors is structured to deliver exactly that — across the UK and India, Dubai, Spain and Portugal