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For a married couple, if one parent dies, the other typically continues raising the child. For a single parent, death is a rupture — someone else must step in immediately.
Without a Will naming a testamentary guardian, the family court decides who raises your child. The court's decision may not align with your wishes. In many cases, courts default to the nearest blood relative — which may be a person you would not choose.
Every single parent should have a Will. This is not optional planning; it is a basic responsibility.
Under Section 60 of the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act 1956 (for Hindus) and the Guardians and Wards Act 1890 (for all religions), a parent can appoint a testamentary guardian for a minor child by Will.
The appointment is not automatically binding — the family court retains supervisory jurisdiction — but courts give substantial weight to a properly appointed testamentary guardian, especially when no other parent survives.
Choose a guardian based on: (a) willingness to take on the role, (b) alignment with your values and parenting approach, (c) financial stability, (d) proximity to your child's current life (school, friends, community), (e) age and health that make guardianship feasible for the child's remaining minority.
Discuss the appointment with the proposed guardian before naming them. An unwilling guardian named without consent creates enormous distress at the worst possible time.
You can name different people as (a) guardian of the person (upbringing, education, day-to-day care) and (b) guardian of the property (financial management of the child's inheritance).
This can be useful when the person best suited for upbringing may not be the person best suited for managing money. A sibling might be an excellent parent-figure but not a competent financial manager; a chartered-accountant cousin might be the reverse.
For most single parents, the same person works for both roles — but consider the split explicitly.
A minor child receives inherited property outright on attaining majority (age 18 or 21 depending on the applicable law). For substantial inheritance, this can be problematic — an 18-year-old inheriting several crores may not be equipped to manage it well.
A testamentary trust in the Will can stage the inheritance. Common patterns:
25 percent at 21, 25 percent at 25, balance at 30 — with all education, health, and reasonable maintenance expenses paid from the corpus throughout minority and early adulthood.
Corpus held until 30 — income used for education and maintenance, corpus preserved.
Milestone-based release — on graduation, marriage, first home purchase, at trustee's discretion.
Testamentary trusts require a Personalised Will (₹25,000) tier or higher — the Online Will template does not support full trust construction.
Term insurance is the most important asset a single parent should have. A ₹1-3 crore policy provides for the child's education and support through majority.
Name the child as nominee only for insurance policies you want to pay out directly on death. For substantial payouts, better structures: (a) name a testamentary trust as beneficiary, (b) name a trusted adult as nominee with directions to manage for the child's benefit.
Coordinate the Will and insurance nominations. If your Will directs term insurance proceeds into a testamentary trust, your insurance nomination should point to the trust or the trustee.
For divorced single parents whose ex-spouse may be unreliable, the Will should specifically address: (a) whether the ex-spouse is the guardian of your child post-death (typically yes under law, unless disqualified), (b) how inherited property is managed to prevent the ex-spouse from accessing it as guardian, (c) alternative property guardians who are not the ex-spouse.
Under Guardians and Wards Act 1890, a surviving parent is generally the natural guardian. Your Will cannot override this for guardianship of the person, but you can restrict property guardianship — appointing your sibling as property guardian while the ex-spouse remains person guardian.
Draft your Will this month. Do not defer. The Online Will (₹5,000) is appropriate for simple estates; Personalised (₹25,000) for anything involving substantial inheritance or trust structures.
Buy or increase term life insurance to a level that supports your child through majority.
Name testamentary guardian (person + property) in the Will.
Set up a testamentary trust for inheritance if the estate is substantial.
Discuss all of this with the proposed guardian and your child (age-appropriate).
Update the Will every 3-5 years and on major life events.
This is general legal information, not legal advice. For your specific situation, consult a Law Tarazoo advocate.
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