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life expectancy for women, and thus pass on the benefit of lower premiums to them. This obviously means that women are expected to outlive men. Look around you and you will find this true. However, women seem to abhor managing money in a structured fashion. They are excellent at managing the household budget, and even manage to regularly save for a rainy day. At the other end of the spectrum, their tales at how well they can spend money are legendary. Read on women, as I coax you to get involved in the family finances. Men, don't feel left out, there's a message for you too in this.
A FEW HARSH QUESTIONS
First, a reality check: a few "what if?" questions. What if your husband has not planned your finances well enough?
What if there was an eventuality in your family? Will I be financially secure in his absence? What if your children's career plans cost you a hefty packet? (After all, it's the children who decide on their future, not the parents.) What if you were completely alone one day?
LISTING OF ALL ASSETS
Start with making a list of all assets as they exist today. For bank accounts, list the account numbers, account holders, bank and branch details, login IDs and passwords; and most importantly, check if nominations are in place for each of them. Know where the cheque books are stored. Go on to listing your other investments such as bonds, deposits and others such as PPF accounts and post office schemes.
In these, make sure you know the frequency of interest payment, the account where this will be credited, whether by direct credit or by cheque, as well as the date of maturity. Questions as to where the pass books and statements are stored/filed need to be answered here as well.
MARKET INVESTMENTS
Do you own equity shares? Are you aware that they can be traded in dematerialised form only? Make sure that the process to convert the physical shares to demat form is started right away. That will lead to the demat account - it is ideal to hold it jointly. You will also need to know whom the equity trading account is dealt through (it will be a registered broker approved by Sebi).
A list of all mutual funds and their holding pattern (again, ensure that nominations are in place, especially for the single holdings) with the linked bank account needs to be documented to ensure that dividend and redemption proceeds will indeed be received by you. If the contact address is an email, kindly ensure that you have access to the email ID and password as well.
PROPERTY DOCUMENTS
Next, let's move on to the property that we own. List all assets under this category, taking care to document the ownership pattern and registered agreement copies (the original could be in a safe deposit vault - but do you have access to the key?). This asset may not be in a position to be transferred by just a nomination and require a specific mention in the will. Take due care to ensure that you are fully aware of the pending procedures to transfer the property to your name in case that is work in progress.
Some of you may question the morbidity of this article approaching Women's Day; but this was meant to be read by all men and actions implemented too: What better gift could you give to the woman in your life?
(The author is the managing director and chief financial planner of International Money Matters)
Ref : LOVAII NAVLAKHI,The Economic Times.
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