Will power: Row dominates corporate mindspace

The battle between Rajendra S Lodha and the Birla clan over the will of late Priyamvada Birla seems to dominate the discussions among the corporate types.

A case in point is the proceedings of a seminar here on Thursday "" 'Wealth Creation in 21st Century in the Context of Global Money and Capital Market' organised by Federation of Indian Export Organisation (FIEO) and the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce.

Speakers on weighty topics such as 'Opportunity in Wealth Management' and 'Risk Management in the Export' were given the go by as the audience focussed all its attention on Sivaramakrishnan, chief executive officer (CEO) of ILFS Trust Company Ltd, who was speaking on the issue of 'Trust vs Will'.

Alluding to the controversy over the Rs 5,000 crore M P Birla assets passing to an 'outsider', R S Lodha, the speaker tried to explain the merit of 'Trust' as a tool of succession planning as compared to 'Will'.

"More than the creation of wealth, preservation of it has become a key issue in everybody's mind. Among all the commonly used tools for wealth preservation, companies, partnership, wills and trust, the later has an edge," he said.

He pointed out that Will could be contested in a court of law easily while in case of Trust, a challenge was more difficult. Moreover, the confidentiality of a will would be lost as a will had to become public during probate proceedings.

In case of a Trust, the contents would remain outside public gaze. He also suggested the wish of the deceased person was likely to be observed more closely in a Trust than in a Will.

"Will does not allow for control of end use, monitoring while in Trust it provides for distribution and monitoring," Sivaramakrishnan pointed out.

His presentation instantly evoked good response. A member of audience disclosed that he would defer making his will and sending it for registration. Speakers said they would consider the trust option.