About testaments

When she died, her heirs were at a loss. She had not made a testament nor had she left any instructions for the bank which had major deposits in her name. There was no other solution for the heirs then to go to her home country, arrange for getting an appropriate inheritance certificate that showed who the heirs were in accordance with the laws of her country, have the certificate ‘apostilled’ so that it would have international recognition, and return to India to claim the inheritance and subsequently pay inheritance tax. It was a frustrating, time-consuming and costly job.

Like her, many Aurovilians are not aware of the legalities involved in making a testament. A useful piece of advice, certainly for Aurovilians of foreign origin, is to have a testament made in accordance with the laws of their home country to ensure that all legalities are being observed. If there are also assets in India, such a testament will need to be ‘apostilled’, that means formally attested, before it will be considered ‘valid’ in India.

For foreign nationals who have no intention to return to their home country, a testament can also be made in India. This can be done with a notary public in Tamil Nadu, at the Sub-Registrar’s office in Vanur, or with a notary in Pondicherry. The document has then to be authenticated by the Home Ministry of Tamil Nadu in Chennai (if made in Tamil Nadu) or by the Home Ministry, Puducherry (if made in Pondicherry). Afterwards, the authenticated documents have to be ‘apostilled’ (formally attested) by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in Chennai. The process is time-consuming.

A testament can also contain bequests to Auroville. Here the issue of inheritance tax is important. In some countries, charitable organisations and organisations working for the general interest do not pay any tax on any inheritance they receive. Many Auroville International Centres qualify as such. This means that if a bequest is made to the Auroville International Centre in your country for the benefit of Auroville, no inheritance tax is payable and all the money can be transferred to Auroville by the Centre. But if you leave your money directly to Auroville, a high amount of inheritance tax would be due.

For Indian nationals, the system is simpler. India has no inheritance tax laws. If you are a national of India, your beneficiaries will not pay any inheritance tax. Also, Auroville does not pay inheritance tax over bequests it receives from Indian nationals.

Apart from making arrangements about your assets, a testament should also include naming a guardian for your minor or specially challenged children and the name of the person who will execute your will. You could also specify what has to happen with your body and, in the case of cremation, what is to be done with the ashes.

Once you have made your testament, leave a copy in the safe of the Financial Service or with a trusted friend so that, at your passing, the people in Auroville know about your wishes. You may also like to include an overview of your debts and assets (mortgages, deeds, stock certificates, bank accounts and numbers, fixed deposit certificates etc.).

Most banks in India allow you to nominate someone to access your account upon your death. The banks have a special form which is to be filled-in by you and then co-signed by the bank manager. Upon your death the nominee will present the paper to the bank and get access to your account. Similarly, you can inform the Auroville Financial Service who should manage your Financial Service account. In case you want the money on your account to be given to someone, or to an Auroville project, or to Auroville in general, it makes sense to give your nominee your instructions in writing. However, in case you also made a testament, the provisions of the testament prevail over the instructions to the nominee. In such a case, the nominee has to inform the executor of the will that the account has been emptied and hand-over the amount to the executor of the will.

Make it easy for those you leave behind. Fill-in the paper ‘Serious Events in the Lives of Aurovilians’, downloadable at Auroville.org.in or available from the farewell facility, so that people know what you want in case of an accident, illness or death. In India, a ‘do not resuscitate’ certificate will need to be presented to a hospital in case you prefer not to be kept artificially alive when in coma. In this paper you can also specify what has to happen with your body and, in the case of cremation, what is to be done with the ashes. It is useful to make a list of people and organisations (with addresses and other details) you want the executor to inform of your passing, such as family, friends, and organisations that are involved with your income such as banks, pension funds, life insurance companies, or government organisations. If you have a safe, inform a trusted friend where the safe is, where the keys to your safe are or what the code of your safe is. This information can also be left together with your testament at the Financial Service.

Lastly, keep all that is strictly personal and which you do not want others to see, such as your diaries, your personal letters and papers, in a box on which you write, “to be burnt at my death”. Better, burn such papers yourself.