Overview
Succession has two halves that families often plan separately and then find do not fit together: who will own the family’s companies, property and investments, and who will run the business. A will can leave shares to three children equally while the business needs one of them to have control; a property can pass cleanly while the company’s Articles block the share transfer. We plan both halves as one piece of work.
India has no inheritance or estate tax today, and gifts between relatives are not taxed as income, so the cost of a well-planned succession is usually in stamp duty, capital gains on a later sale, and the time and money a contested estate takes in court. A will under the Indian Succession Act, 1925 is the base layer for most families, while personal law can limit it (Muslim personal law, for example, generally limits a bequest to one third of the estate). A private trust under the Indian Trusts Act, 1882 can hold assets for the family while the founder is alive and keep them out of probate later. A holding company can keep control of the operating business in one place while economic benefit is shared.
We map what the family owns, how each asset can pass, and what each route costs, then put the chosen plan into documents: the will, the trust deed, the family settlement or constitution, the share transfers and the Articles amendments that make them work. Wills, trust deeds and settlements are finalised with a practising advocate, yours or one we introduce. We do not give investment advice; CapEasy is not a SEBI-registered investment adviser.
Who it’s for
- Founders of closely held companies who want control of the business to pass to a chosen successor while the wider family still shares in its value
- Business families with several siblings or branches holding shares, where an unplanned transfer would split control
- Families holding significant property and investments with no will, or with a will that no longer matches the family or the assets
- Promoters of listed companies planning a transfer among family members, where the stock exchange and takeover rules apply to the shares
Eligibility & requirements
- An inventory of companies and shareholdings, properties, investments and any assets held abroad
- The family tree and each member’s role, residency and intentions for the business
- Any existing wills, trust deeds, family arrangements, shareholder agreements and the Articles of each company
- The founder’s wishes, written down in plain words, for who should run the business and how value should be shared
How CapEasy handles it
- Family discovery: confidential sessions with the founder and, where agreed, the family, ending in a written map of what passes to whom today if nothing is done
- Options and costs: the possible routes (will, private trust, holding company, gifts during the founder’s lifetime, a family settlement) compared on control, stamp duty, tax on a later sale and the risk of dispute
- The plan: one written succession plan covering ownership and management, agreed with the founder before any document is drafted
- Documents: the will, trust deed, family constitution or settlement drafted and finalised with a practising advocate, and the share transfers and Articles amendments filed for each company
- Transition: a timeline for handing over management, the board and signing authority, and the governance that keeps the family aligned after the founder steps back
- Review: a yearly check of the plan as the family, the business and the law change
Documents you’ll typically need
- PAN and Aadhaar of the founder and each family member involved
- Shareholding records, Articles and the last audited financials of each company
- Title documents for properties and statements for investment and bank accounts
- Any existing wills, codicils, trust deeds, family arrangements and shareholder agreements
