Unclaimed Wealth: Crores of rupees are lying unclaimed in the country and no one has any information about the real owners of this money. There are many families whose members’ money is deposited in bank accounts, insurance funds or mutual funds, but the family members are not even aware of it. This means that there are crores of rupees lying across the country which have no claimant today.
SEBI registered investment advisor and founder of Sahaj Money, Abhishek Kumar has drawn attention to this serious issue. He recently wrote in a LinkedIn post that about Rs 80,000 crores are lying unclaimed. He also said that this topic is very important, but very few people talk about it.
Why do funds remain unclaimed?
According to Abhishek Kumar, this situation is not because people are short of money, but its real reason is lack of communication, complexity of paperwork and lack of awareness among families. He asked people whether their family knows about their money? Many times it happens that after a person’s death, the family has no information about his investments, due to which the money remains unclaimed for years.
real example
Giving an example, Abhishek Kumar said that last year he helped a client whose wife did not know that Rs 15 lakh had been invested in mutual funds in his name.
Similarly, he mentioned another incident in which it took two years for a family to get their bank account unlocked. The reason for this was that the nominee’s name was not added to the account.
Is a mere will sufficient?
Abhishek Kumar warned that many people think that merely making a Will is enough, but it is not so. He clarified that a will is effective only when it is prepared through proper evidence and legal process.
There are lakhs of families in the country whose hard-earned money is stuck in various financial institutions. Experts say people should share information about their investments with family, add nominees to all accounts, and keep important documents in order so that their assets do not remain unclaimed in the future.
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