NSDL & Warmond expand online platform “Ezeewill” to offer Trust services & Estate Planning

​Mumbai: NSDL e-Governance Infrastructure that launched path-breaking online Will-making in collaboration with Mumbai-based Warmond Trustees and Executors, is now expanding its platform to offer personalized wills, executorship, trust services and estate planning.

Warmond collaborated with NSDL two years ago to float an online platform called Ezeewill, the first of the kind in India to prepare a Will. With this expansion, Warmond will now offer high-end comprehensive estate planning solutions like personalized will, corporate executorship, setting up private trusts including acting as trustees for wealthy families.

Mr. Gagan Rai, MD & CEO, NSDL e-Governance, said “The investors in India trust NSDL brand for custody of their securities, which may be a major portion of their wealth.

We have been getting lot of requests from households to do something in the area of Succession Planning; hence, this initiative. As we all know, to write a Will is one of the most important decisions in one’s life.”

Under the online will offering, a Will can be prepared by taking few simple steps and for an affordable fee. Once the client provides the requisite details, a draft is made, discussed with the client and the final Will is delivered to the client.

For those clients who believe their situation is unique and requires personal interactions and discussions, personalized Will is the solution.

The client shall have a choice of holding discussions with an expert about his specific needs and seek guidance accordingly. With the introduction of the ‘executorship’ offering, Warmond now extends its comprehensive solutions on all estate planning matters.

As a corporate executor, Warmond brings to the table continuity for clients and their families, experience and technical knowledge on legal matters pertaining to execution of Wills.

As an executor, they would take care of applying for and obtaining probate certificate, distributing assets to the beneficiaries in accordance with the Will, providing legal assistance in case of any dispute, payment of debt, etc.

“Having been in the Succession Planning industry for over 15 years, we have seen this space evolve and awareness for this service increase. We believe the time was right to roll out this offering given the latent demand for it,” said Anuradha Shah, MD and CEO, Warmond Trustees and Executors.

In addition to preparation of Wills and undertaking Executorship, as part of its bouquet of estate planning offerings, Warmond would also help high net worth families with trust formation and act as a corporate trustee, for the trusts wherever so mandated.

“With increasing number of wealthy families in India, the demand for succession planning has seen a surge in the recent past. At Warmond, we believe in having a dynamic and progressive approach.

The introduction of our comprehensive succession planning offerings on our online portal is a major step in that direction,” said Amit Pathak, MD, Warmond Trustees and Executors.

NSDL, which maintains NPS accounts of over 1.2 crore Indian citizens apart from having implemented projects like Tax Information Network, is managing the online infrastructure while Warmond has a panel of lawyers to prepare Wills and provide legal advice and assistance & other related services.

The collaboration brings together the technology and e-governance capabilities of NSDL and legal expertise of Warmond.

Recently, Warmond acquired Julius Baer Trustees (India) Limited, formerly known as DSP Merrill Lynch Trust Services Limited (DSPMLTS) making it the first acquisition in the space of trusteeship and estate planning wherein a domestic company has acquired the business of a multi-national company. Post this acquisition, Warmond has become one of the largest players offering such services in the country.