Summary: This document is intended to provide some guidelines and practical recommendations for minimizing the bureaucratic hassles

both prior to the demise and after the demise of a parent. This is based on my own experiences with the situation despite the incredible preparations made by my father, M. K. Rao, who updated a final document while awaiting an ambulance which took him to the hospital where he This document is just a set of suggestions based on my own experience. It is not intended to be legal nor financial advice. The reader takes it upon on himself/herself to ensure that the advice is current and valid. Each of the items takes about less than a day of actual work, although the elapsed time may actually be

Checklist

1 Have a single place where all documents (listed below) and all critical items are kept

2 3 4 5

Create a list of documents and other items Tell a family friend geographically close to the parents where the list is placed Tell some or all children where the list is placed if possible, email a copy of the list to some or all the children

A typical place would be the stereotypical Godrej cupboard. The more common parlance would be the armoire i) Bank documents - cheque books, F.D.s, ATM cards with PINs, passbooks ii) Locker keys - Typically two keys are needed to open a locker, yours and the banks. This is critical. Iii) Original of all property documents iv) List all jewelry v) List of all IOUs - both issued and received v) Title to any vehicles vi) A copy of the latest will vii) A copy of the last three years of tax bills viii) A copy of any insurance or mediclaim policies along with the names of the issuing agents and redemption dates ix) A list of all bank account and mutual fund computer ids (WITHOUT the password) x) A list of all insurance policies and any auto debit plan that is in place xi) All medical documents of yourself and your spouse including the latest medical reports, medications (dosage - potency and frequency), and doctors contact information

Checklist 1 Ensure that all bank accounts have a nominee 2 Ensure that all Mutual Funds have a nominee Ensure that all bank accounts and mutual funds are jointly held with 3 the spouse Ensure all bank accounts and mutual funds have ids and passwords 4 set up 5 If you are under 75, get mediclaim for yourself and your spouse Even if you are never planning to get a U.S. residency, get birth certificates and marriage certificates from your municipality for 6 yourself and your spouse Even if you are never planning to get a U.S. residency, get 2 or more affadavits from people who are older than you regarding your birth 7 date, any aliases, and place of birth For the male spouse, even if you are never planning to get a U.S. residency, get at least 1 affadavit from people who attended your 8 wedding, stating the date and time of your marriage

Get a full physical and the following list as well based upon 9 consultation with your doctor Get a full dental exam. Identify candidates for tooth extraction, 10 gum disease, root canal, and implants as necessary

11 Create a will

12 Any note of appreciation to family, friends, co-workers, employees Create a single account from which insurance premiums, mediclaim 13 premiums, etc. are paid 14 Update the list

See (8)if you are unable to do so

See worksheet titled Birth Affadavit

See worksheet titled Wedding Affadavit Common issues that are not covered by the physical are: i) Gastritis ii) Glaucoma iii) Rheumatism iv) Rheumatoid Arthritis v) Prostrate - (the sonogram checks for enlargement but not for malignancy) vi) Vitamin deficiency

Things to state specifically - allocation of jewelry, any antiques, expensive furniture/idols, and silverware. Also, ceremonies that you want or do not want performed and charities that you want to contribute to If nothing else, it will make you noble and good. Or it might be the opportunity to let people what you really think about them without worrying about the consequences.

Checklist

1 Add a child to the bank account - preferaby one who is local Close out unnecessary bank accounts and avoid FDs in banks with 2 poor ratings 3 Keep at least bank account with a nationalized bank Related to (3), establish a good working relationship with the 4 manager and lead office staff at the bank 5 Add a child to the mutual fund as a co-operator of the mutual fund

Close out and/or do not invest in mutual funds that are long 6 duration tax vehicles Undertake any prescriptive medical or therapeautic treatment to 7 remedy chronic but not acute conditions

Undertake any dental procedures that may be necessary including 8 tooth extraction, root canal, implantation of inserts Establish any medical regimen and purchase as appropriate a 6 9 month supply of the medicines 10 Update list

To avoid any possibility of conflict, it would be safe to assign an account to each child with the assumption that the each child would get to keep the proceeds from the account My personal experience with ICICI merits special mention. State Bank of India is usually a safe bet

This allows the child to decide whether to continue to operate the fund or close it out. This does depend on your health and that of your spouse. However, recognize that avoiding a tax break of 20% on the interest just changes the effective rate from 10% to 8%. A fund would have to be worth about at least 10 lakhs (much more if you are expecting it to be prematurely closed upon your demise) for the tax savings to offset the cost of a trip from the U.S. to deal with such matters Prior to undertaking any major surgery, especially orthopedic, increasing muscle strength and aerobic fitness is highly beneficial. These procedures are 5-15x more expensive in the foreign countries and include several protocols that are typically not necessary. In addition, the referral network is likely to be much effective in the home country

I, Shardha Kamath (nee Shenoy), also known as Pushpalata, born on Jan 1, 1934 in Mangalore, India, solemnly attest the following i) My sister, Radha Sharma (nee Shenoy), also known as Aditi, was born on October 1, 1936 in Mangalore at our residence, Kamala Niwas on Market Street. ii) She is the mother of Aditya Sharma, and the wife of the late Dr. Vikas Sharma iii) She currently resides at Flat # 1216, Sunrise, Queens Colony, Juhu, Mumbai - 400042 iv) At time of our births, the established practice was home births and births were typically not registered with the municipal (local) government as there was no such practice at that time. I attest that this information is true to the best of my knowledge. Shardha Kamath
Mumbai

I, Shriram Kamath, born on Janof Shardha Kamath (nee Shenoy) aka Mukta Shenoy and my brother, i) I was present at the wedding 1, 1936 in Mangalore, India, solemnly attest the following Gururaj Kamath ii) The wedding took place at the Cherdappaya Hall in Bantwal, India on October 19th, 1958. iv) At time of the wedding, the established practice was that weddings were typically not registered with the municipal (local) government as there was no such practice at that time. I attest that this information is true to the best of my knowledge. Shriram Kamath
Mumbai Dec. 21, 2011

Checklist

Category Before heading 1 home Before heading 2 home Before heading 3 home Tickets should be booked with a return date equal to the date of post-death ceremony + 14 days (at least). Hindus typically have a ceremony on the 14th day. Muslims typically have a ceremony on the 11th day. A rough estimate of the monies required is Rs. 40,000 - based on my personal experience. It might be prudent to ensure that you have twice that amount in cash. Capital One does not have any foreign currency transaction fees. Others tack on anywhere from 1-3%. However, it might be best to use any cash at home as most monies cannot be repatriated to the U.S. The hospital will typically release the body and provide a release certificate. The body will start to decompose in about 6 hours depending on the weather Most public crematoriums are free. Electrical ones tend to be less gory. The wood ones will have the limbs separating from the body, etc.. Usually, there is no wait despite what they may say over the phone You can provide an urn to carry the remains. Cremation may take several hours. If you do not wish to wait, you can pick up the remains later (usually upto 72 hours) The payment is usually nominal for the service. The workers usually expect about Rs. 300-Rs.500 per head if they figure out you are an outsider. If you are not waiting until the end of the cremation, it might be worth it to pay The hospital release is taken by the crematorium. A death certificate will be issued in its lieu. They will claim that they can get you a cert in 5-10 days. Currently, Maharashtra laws mandate a cap of 17 days to get the certificate. In my experience, it is not worth the additional monies to get the forms as the following days are too hectic to use the form. If a form is needed in a hurry, you are better off trying to get the form from the municpality directly. They can generate the form in 30 mnutes. Get 15 copies at least. The pujari will typically state anywhere from Rs. 10-15K for this effort. The pujari may have his own connections for the meal. However, you should ask others who have had to undertake this for any suggestions. My own experience was very disappointing. Typically most Mumbaikars drop off the remains in Nasik. The travel time there can be as little as 4 hours or as much as 6 hours depending on traffic. An early start is recommended. No payment nor additional ceremonies at the river site is necessary nor should be made. Buy a simple scanner/copier. Typicall cost - Rs. 4000.

Tickets

Cash

Credit cards

Cremation/B Hospital 4 urial Release

Cremation/B 5 urial Type Cremation/B 6 urial Urn

Cremation/B 7 urial Cash

Cremation/B Death 8 urial Certificate 9 Last rites Pujari/Pandit

10 Last rites

Meal

11 Last rites 12 Documents

Immersion Copier

Documents

List of documents

Make copies of PAN card, passport, voter ID, UID, as appropriate (yours, wife's, parent's (both surviving and deceased) Load an antivirus such as Kapersky, Norton, or Microtrend (also available in Indian retail stores) on the Indian computer connected to the internet and the scanner/printer Scan above documents into a pdf file and email it to yourself from a secure computer. Close out any bank accounts that are needless (see 13). The death certificate is sometimes required in original. Each bank has its own unique process. It might be best to work with somebody known to either yourself or a parent. Based on the time frame that one has in mind and the maturity dates of the financial instruments, one can close out the accounts if a login id and password exists Pay off society, electricity, and cable fees as necessary

13 Documents

14 Documents

Antivirus Scan documents into email

15 Financial

Banks Financial institutions Dues

16 Financial 17 Financial

18 Financial

Phones

The internet, landline phone, and the cell phone can be put in safe custody with a letter from the deceased person.

19 Travel Back

Have the surviving spouse (if any) be given a comprehensive test Medical Exam including any suspected (however minor) illness

20 Travel Back

Medical Insurance

Get medical insurance for the surviving parent. See if you can get it from a govt. of India or reputed agency Typically 6 months is the most one can get on a tourist visa. So schedule the date accordingly. If you plan to accompany the survivor on the return, then aim for a Wed/Thursday return leg (cheaper than a weekend ticket and you arrive on a weekend so you can still get things done on Saturday (for half a day) and get caught up so that you can be commence on Monday Carry a 6 month supply of medicines Carry copies (or better still email to yourself) of financial documents

21 Travel Back 22 Travel Back 23 Travel Back

Tickets for surviving parent Medicines Documents

24 Travel Back

Services

i) Pay off 1 year of electric bills in advance ii) Shut off the phone and internet iii) Shut off the cell phone service

25 Travel Back

Do the following: i) Pay off any society fees (typically for a year) ii) Shut off the newspaper service and food (typically milk) service iii) Pay off the domestic help iv) Have a neighbor or relation pick up the mail weekly v) Empty the refrigerator and leave the door slightly ajar to avoid mildew build up vi) Switch off the gas cylinder viii) Lubricate the locks of the doors and windows ix) Have the bathroom cleaned with bleach or a disinfectant Locking up the x) Have the vehicle keys turned over to a relation for periodic house checks

26 Travel Back

Wheel chair

If your surviving parent is slow in moving around, ask for a wheel chair for the trip.

Some banks had asked for originals. Some banks were fine with copies provided that they could see the original. Some answers varied by branch.

The bulk of the payment should come upon completion of the services rendered.

Viruses are prevalent in a large percentage of Indian computers. There is a good chance (between 25-50%) that the Indian computer has malware on it.

See above Needless refers to banks where the account is primarily a cash holding account. Accounts which are being used for auto debit of phone bills, insurance premiums, etc. are not be closed. Also, accounts that are being used to receive annuities, dividends should not be closed out. it is possible to request a login id and password based on the account number and other private information. Typically one year is recommended. There is a monthly charge even if you switch off the mains There is usually no need for a signature. Just state that the deceased person is going abroad and write in standard writing. Safe custody is usually for a year, so close out accounts that you are not using after that. See the worksheet 'Nice Options' to see what you can do based on the experiences of people My mother had severe gastritis which could have easily become an ulcer. This was addressed with a 6 week course of antibiotics I have heard of a single instance of an insurance company providing payment for U.S. hospitalization and medical treatment. I know that others are very slow and require a great deal of persistence. Please share your experiences and recommendations.

A copier/scanner costs Rs. 4000 which, IMHO, is well worth the cost.

With any service, the fees for lapsing tend to be high. So it is best to avoid any penalties. You have the option for electronic pay for electricity but you typically have to go to the office to get id and password. For phone and internet, you have the option of safe custody (usually for 6 months) but you may need to get your surviving parent's signature. You can also just write the note with the name (don't sign). They are usually not picky about it unless they want to give you a hard time. For cell phone service, you have the option of the putting this in safe custody. You also have the option of paying a one time fee which will avoid monthly charges.

This is, of course, assuming that house is being closed up The wheelchair hastens your passage through Indian immigration, customs, as well as through connections, and U.S. immigration and customs. Of course, any convenience that is abused will meet its natural demise. So I suggest that this free privilege not be abused.

Folks, I hope this document was/is/will be of help to you. My father passed away on July 18th, 2011. He was my best friend and the person who I always strive to be. I was very fortunate that he had most of his affairs in order. (Apparently, while he was waiting for the ambulance, his face a ghastly shade of grey, he updated one last document.). Despite his efforts, I had some issues dealing with the system, albeit relatively minor. I am trying to share my experiences and what would have helped me if I had known. Please let me know if I have stated anything incorrectly or if you have better information. Feel free to add to this. I will be happy to regularly update this as necessary. I am very grateful to friends, neighbors, and family who helped during this period and continue Best wishes, Naresh Feb. 13, 2012