Death of nominee

Querist : Anonymous (Querist) 05 September 2011 This query is : Resolved
A person makes a will leaving the monies lying in various bank deposits/accounts to a welfare organisation as he has no children. some of the deposits/accounts have his wife as nominee. On his death bank refuses the claim of executors & trustees of the will in respect of deposits/ accounts where nomination is there,though the nominee gives a letter that payment may be made to E&T as per will. Payment is made to the wife who is the nominee. She deposits these monies in her name.she does not utilise any of the amount. She has not made any nomination in her account. She has not made any will. She too dies shortly thereafter.
Who can claim the money? The Executors&Trustees
named in the will or legal heirs of the nominee? or the welfare organisation who is named in the will to receive the monies?

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Chanchal Nag Chowdhury (Expert) 05 September 2011
Difficult to answer without the full text of the Will. If all properties have been given to the welfare org.,they will get it.
However, the monies of the wife will be distributed as in the case of female intestacy. This depends on the personal law governing the wife in her lifetime.

prabhakar singh (Expert) 05 September 2011
please attach the will.

Raj Kumar Makkad (Expert) 05 September 2011
Wife was not entitled to retain money given in will to social organizations so social organizations are legally entitled to claim that money and rest of the properties of deceased lady shall be distributed by her legal heirs.

Guest (Expert) 06 September 2011
Bank was neither bound to honour the will, nor any letter from the nominee in the presence of the existing nomination on their record in the name of the wife, as the nominee and also the legal hier.

Since you have stated that payment was made to the wife who was the nominee, the E&T were entitled to claim the amount from the nominee towards execution of the will. Since the money was deposited by the nominee in her own name, the status of money deposits have already changed in the hands of the nominee contrary to the provisions of the will. Accordingly, the banks would not be in a position to entertain any claim directly from any person other than the nominees or the legal hiers of the depositor (wife) in the absence of any subsequent will made by the depositor (wife).

So, whosoever out of the E&T or social organizations want to claim the money, can only prefer claim through an order of the court in their favour.

prabhakar singh (Expert) 06 September 2011
The beneficiaries of the will have right title over monies left by under WILL but for that they need to get the 'will' probated and a succession certificate issued in their favor.

Yet a complication may arise on the point that they must have done it just on the death of the testator which they did not,despite having made the claim before the Bank and refusal to pay by the Bank and the widow of the testator deposited it in her personal name then if the money remained in her exclusive personal name for more than 3 years( even if un-utilized no matter), her heirs may now plead the claim of beneficiaries under the WILL as time barred and can claim riv ally that the same became asset of the widow just during her life time of which they are successors as per law of inheritance.