Difference between Nominee and Legal Heir

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The concepts of a nominee and legal heir relate to the beneficiary of a person’s estate and property upon his or her death. The legalities of these concepts are crucial for every layman to understand to enable one to make proper arrangements of their property after their demise. While the two concepts are often misconstrued for one another, they are quite different and carry different implications which is being illustrated hereunder.  A nominee is a person, who as the name suggests, is nominated by a deceased person during his or her lifetime to hold their property and assets upon their death as a trustee. A legal heir on the other hand is a concept under the law of will and succession and refers to the person upon whom the property and assets of a person shall ultimately devolve upon his or her demise.
 

Nominee

Nominee can be understood as an individual, specifically nominated by another as their representative and is elected to receive their assets or wealth upon their demise. The nominee obtains the assets and wealth of a deceased person in the capacity of a trustee and only enjoys such possession till the wealth is formally distributed as per the deceased person’s wishes as recorded in a will. Given the essential task a nominee has to perform, such a nominee can only be a family member of the deceased person and any person so elected as a nominee from outside the family is considered void and impermissible. Such a contingency can only occur if the deceased person has no living family, in which case a nomination can be made in favour of an outsider.  

Legal heir

Legal heir refers to the ultimate successor of a person’s estate and wealth. A legal heir enjoys all benefits of ownership over the assets left behind by a person after his or her demise. The identification of a person’s legal heirs can be done from the will of such a person which records the manner in which his or her estate is to be divided. In the absence of a will, the formal laws of succession help in identifying the legal heirs of a deceased person. Essentially, legal heirs of a person are his or her spouse, children, parents and or siblings upon whom the estate of the deceased person would devolve.
 

Difference between nominee and legal heir

The following are the points of difference between the concepts of nominee and legal heir:

1. A nominee can be understood as the person who is voluntarily nominated by a person to receive the estate upon his or her demise in the form of either some money, property or any other asset etc. On the other hand, a legal heir is a person who gets the benefit of ownership of another’s estate upon such person’s demise.

2. The nominee enjoys the property of a deceased person in the capacity of a trustee and holds it till the same is eventually transferred to the legal heirs of such deceased person. A legal heir on the other hand is purely a beneficiary who enjoys ownership and title of the property of such person upon his or her demise.

3. Nominee relates to a person in whose favour, the deceased person has made a nomination to receive a certain sum of money upon such person’s demise. A legal heir on the other hand refers to the person who enjoys the ultimate right to all the assets in a deceased person’s estate.

4. Nomination is the formal act by which a nominee is elected by a person. A legal heir on the other hand is decided by either the will of a deceased person or by the laws of succession which prevail in the absence of a will.  

LawRato LawRato

786 votes

The differences between the nominee and legal heir

In simple words, a nominee is somebody who will receive the asset upon the death of the owner/holder. A legal heir means any person, male or female, who is entitled to succeed to the property of a deceased person under a will or as per the succession laws.

Advocate Anupam Kumar Mishra LawRato