An NRI estate is not one estate. It is two or three estates that happen to belong to the same person, each governed by a different legal system, each with its own courts, timelines and tax authorities.

Here is where it usually goes wrong.

Mistake 1: A single "worldwide" Will

It feels tidy. One document, everything covered. In practice, a single Will has to be admitted to probate in every country where assets sit — and each country wants the original.

While the original document is in a Dubai or New Jersey court, the Indian court is waiting. Families routinely lose 12 to 30 months to this alone.

The fix: separate situs Wills — one per jurisdiction, each expressly limited to the assets in that jurisdiction, each drafted so it does not revoke the other. That last clause matters. We have seen an Indian Will drafted with a standard "I revoke all former Wills" line quietly cancel a US estate plan.

Mistake 2: Assuming your country of residence governs your Indian property

It does not. Immovable property in India is governed by Indian law, full stop — whichever passport you hold and wherever you are domiciled. Your Will must satisfy Indian requirements: signed by you, attested by two witnesses who saw you sign.

Movable property is a different question and generally follows the law of your domicile, which is why the two sets of assets are worth separating in the first place.

There is a second, quieter version of this mistake: property bought in India decades ago and never mutated into the current owner's name in municipal records. The Will disposes of it correctly; the revenue records disagree; the heirs spend two years fixing it.

Mistake 3: Leaving NRO, NRE and FCNR accounts unmapped

NRE and FCNR balances are freely repatriable. NRO balances are subject to the annual USD 1 million scheme and require Form 15CA/15CB and a chartered accountant's certificate. Heirs abroad who inherit an NRO balance often discover this at the worst possible moment.

Add to that the paperwork: banks routinely ask for an apostilled death certificate, an apostilled copy of the probated Will, KYC for the overseas heirs, and an indemnity. None of it is difficult if it was anticipated. All of it is painful if it was not.

The fix: a live asset register that lists every Indian account with its type, the bank's exact death-claim requirements, and the nominee currently on record. We give clients a template for this and review it annually.

Mistake 4: Executors who cannot function

An executor in Toronto cannot walk into a sub-registrar's office in Kochi. An executor in Kerala cannot deal with a 401(k).

The fix: appoint an executor per jurisdiction, give each of them a limited, clearly-worded power, and name a professional or institutional executor where the family is scattered or the assets are complex. Also name substitutes — executors sometimes predecease, and sometimes decline.

The checklist we actually use

  • ☐ Separate situs Will for India, drafted to Indian formalities
  • ☐ Non-revocation clauses cross-checked against every foreign Will
  • ☐ Indian immovable property: title, mutation records and encumbrance certificate verified
  • ☐ Asset register covering NRE / NRO / FCNR / demat / MF folios / PPF / insurance
  • ☐ Nominations checked against the Will, mismatches removed
  • ☐ Executor and substitute executor named per jurisdiction
  • ☐ Repatriation route and tax residency implications modelled
  • ☐ Originals stored where an heir can actually reach them, and a location note held by the executor
  • ☐ Reviewed every two years, or after any change of residence

Why the sequence matters

Most NRI plans fail not because the drafting was poor but because the paperwork was never assembled in one place. The document is the last 20% of the work. The register, the title checks and the nomination clean-up are the first 80% — and they are the part that decides whether your family spends six weeks or six years on this.

General information for NRIs. Cross-border estate planning depends on your domicile, residence and the specific countries involved — please take advice on your own facts.