NRI Legal Services

Kamaljit Singh and his sisters came to the Leicester office of the company with the need for what is apparently the most ‘basic’ service we offer – yet often ends up being the most complicated! Land Search – something that clients approach us with assuming that it is ‘just’ about locating a few documents in their native places, least realising that it takes tremendous effort to trace out the records of any property. Kamaljit’s father bought a plot of land in 1971 and later, transferred one part of it in the name of his son, one part in the name of Kamaljit’s brother and one part in his own name. Since Kamaljit and his brother were both living in the US by then, their father appointed a caretaker for the property. Unfortunately, when Kamaljit came to our New Jersey office , he did not even remember the caretaker’s name. Kamal also had two sisters who were not interested in the property and had already signed documents handing over the property to their brothers. Kamaljit’s ...

Booking a property with a builder has its own share of anxieties and confusions. Toronto based Rohan Pandey was witness to something similar when his mother passed away and he found himself listed as a nominee in a group housing membership that she had in her name. Based in Gurgaon, near Delhi this society was supposed to have provision for a reasonably sized property with all basic amenities as part of the deal. Subsequently, he set about taking care of all pending payments. Meticulous to the core, he made all payments on time through proper channels and duly kept proof of the transactions too. Initially he was assured by the builders of a good sized piece of land. Gradually they shifted gear to provision of an apartment. In time, the commitment on that too seemed to waver with Rohan being given meaningless stories about some discrepancy in his nomination. Completely at a loss with the way things seemed to be working out, Rohan contacted the Toronto office of this company and sough...

One of the most crucial aspects of property issues is inheritance and subsequent requirements related to this. Inheritance logically happens through one of the two processes – either a state of natural succession or through the Will document that an individual makes. Natural Succession In case of a man, in case he dies without leaving a will (“intestate”), as a process of natural succession his assets stand equally divided between his mother, wife and children. If all these are absent then the assets would be inherited by the father, siblings and grandchildren. In case of a woman, if she dies without making a will her assets will get divided equally between her kids. In situations where unfortunately either the husband/child is disabled or the children are minors, then the properties would be passed on through a trust in the future. Will In situations where the Will is present, after the demise of the concerned person, the heirs would, in any case, be clearly sta...

A French scholar Romaine Rolland rightly said “There is one place on the face of earth where all the dreams of living men have found a home from the very earliest days when man began the dream of existence, it is India.” A considerable population of the Indians exists in Gulf regions, Mauritius, East Africa, Australia, and Canada. About 1.1 million exist in the Caribbean and South American countries. Moreover 1.7 million live in the United States, 3 million in gulf areas and in UK they form the largest cultural community. Since independence, the Indians settled abroad have been returning to discover new opportunities for interacting with their homeland. These Indians who have settled in the far off lands miss their own country and make every effort to connect with their motherland in some way or the other either by purchasing property or networking with their relatives etc. Respecting the sentiments of such nationals who want to participate in the development of their country, the Gove...

Sushil Kumar, a Non-Resident Indian based in Austin, Texas bought a 1000 sq feet flat in New Delhi, India costing Rs. 35 Lakhs in 2004. At that time he was upset with the fact that he was over-paying for it but today he not only has the worth of the flat more than double, however in addition to this he is truly elated that this real estate investment is giving him such good return. This example very clearly sums up the Indian Real Estate Market of today. According to the recent trends, the Indian property market is not only flourishing, but growing by leaps and bounds. Research data estimates that the Indian Real Estate Market is expected to grow from the current 14 billion dollars to 102 billion dollars in the next 10 years. After the September 11 incident in the US, investments in Indian markets have gained momentum. India has encouraged Non Resident Indians (NRI’s) and Foreign Investors by giving them tax incentives and relaxation of foreign direct investments (FDI) rules. The RBI h...

Patel most common Indian surname in US The US Census Bureau study found that Patel, ranked 172nd, is the most common Indian surname in America. A total number of 145,000 Patels are in the US.The study was based on returns from the 2000 census that takes place every ten years, with the Western name Smith taking the top position.The second most common Indian last name was Singh, its overall ranking was 396th, with 72,642 Singhs in the country. Singhs are Sikhs and also Hindus with roots in states other than Punjab.Khans ranked at 665th, but Khans come from Pakistan and Afghanistan as well as India.Shah ranked at 831, Sharma at 2247, Kumar at 2293 and Desai at 2540. Guptas, Reddys, Mehtas and Raos brought up the rear.The growth of the Indian origin population was the highest among all Asian origin groups. From 820,000 in 1990 it rose to 1.6 million in 2000 and is the third largest Asian American group in the US. Indian Diaspora is largest in globalized world More than 20 million Persons o...