Want to draft a will? key-in the details

EASING THE WAY.


Remya Nair

Mumbai, Dec. 16

A draft will can be yours at the click of a mouse. Warmond Trustees and Executors Pvt Ltd is offering a facility wherein customers can provide the will writing instructions online and get a draft will within seven days for Rs 10,000.

Anyone who wishes to draft a will can log on to the company's Web site and fill in a form providing all the necessary estate details and other relevant information. The draft will be mailed to the client within seven days, said Mr Sandeep Nerlekar, MD and CEO, Warmond Trustees and Executors Pvt Ltd.

However, if the clients want Warmond to register the will and complete the other formalities, they will have to pay extra for availing themselves of the facility.

“The awareness among the people for the need of a will is increasing. With rising health concerns, people are not waiting to attain old age to make a will.

At present, most of our clients are high networth individuals. We are looking to target the salaried class as well”, said Mr Nerlekar.

Warmond has tied up with financial institutions such as HDFC Bank, Religare Macquarie and Alchemy Capital for offering estate planning services to their customers. It is also in talks with some foreign banks and a private bank for a tie-up.

Range of services

The services offered by Warmond range from basic will-drafting facilities to executorship, trust formation and management services. “We are also looking at tying up with insurance companies where we can bundle a will with an insurance policy”, he said.

Warmond trains the relationship managers of these financial institutions. So, when the relationship manager talks to the customers about the products offered by the banks, they speak about estate planning as well. If the customer evinces interest, then Warmond contacts the customers.

Referral fee

The referral fee that is paid to the financial institution is a percentage of the fee charged by Warmond.

Warmond, in its earlier avatar, was known as Centurion Executive ship, Trusteeship and Real Estate Management Advisory (CERMA), in which Centurion Bank of Punjab (CBoP) had a stake. However, after HDFC Bank acquired CBoP, it diluted its stake to 5 per cent in the trusteeship business due to potential litigation risk.

For law firms, estate and succession planning is one of the several services. Warmond focuses exclusively on this. Therefore, we are better placed and there is a lot of opportunity for us to expand, Mr Nerlekar said.