Even if you open a simple bank account, you have to provide nominee details in the form. Apart from this, you must have made someone a nominee in any kind of scheme, policy, land etc. Nominee means the person who has the right to withdraw money from your policy etc. in your absence. But it is not necessary that the nominee is also entitled to that property of yours. The owners of the property are your successors.
It is possible that you have made one of your successors the nominee, in such a case he can get a share of your property. But if you have made a friend or acquaintance of yours a nominee, then he will only have the right to withdraw your money. He will not be the owner of that property. Here understand the difference between nominee and successor which most people do not understand.
Who is the heir?
The heir is actually the one whose name is written in the legal will by the actual owner of the property or who has the right over the property according to the inheritance law. If your nominee is one of those heirs, then he is entitled to receive a part of the property or money distribution. If you want that after your death, the desired nominee should be the owner of your entire property, then it is necessary to clearly mention his name in the will.
Class-1 and Class-2 heirs
Class-1 heirs have the right to get the amount first. This money should be divided equally among them. But if there is no one among the class-1 heirs, then the division is done among class-2 heirs. Son, daughter, widowed wife, mother come under class-1 heirs and father, son and daughter’s children, brother, sister, brother and sister’s children come under class-2. If a person does not have any Class-1 or Class-2 heir, then a distant relative who is related to the deceased by blood can become the heir.
Who is a nominee?
The nominee is the guardian of your property. After your death, the nominee gets the right to claim the money of that property or that policy. But just by becoming a nominee, he does not get the ownership rights. If you have made any of your successors the nominee, then he can get a share in your property. That money will be divided among the rest of the successors along with him. If the nominee is an outsider or friend, then he will take out that money and hand it over to the successors. In such a case, that amount or share of the property will be equally divided among all the legal heirs. A friend or outsider who is a nominee, but is not an heir, can become entitled to that property only if his name is clearly mentioned in the will.
