IF YOU HAVE ONLY ONE CHILD, DO YOU STILL NEED A WILL?

CA Sreejith Kuniyil
Founder, PravasiTax &
True Legacy

A lot of parents with one child assume the question of inheritance answers itself. There’s only one heir, so everything will go to them anyway, Will or no Will. It’s a reasonable-sounding assumption. It’s also wrong, and it can end up costing your child years of avoidable difficulty at the worst possible time.

Having a single child doesn’t simplify succession planning. In some ways, it makes a Will more important, not less.

“It’ll all go to my child anyway, will it?

Without a Will, your assets don’t automatically pass to your child alone. They pass according to the personal law of succession that applies to you, and in most cases, that means your spouse and possibly your own parents also become legal heirs alongside your child. Your child may end up owning your house jointly with your spouse and grandparents, rather than outright. Every joint owner then has a say in how that property is used, sold, or transferred.

A Will lets you decide, in your own words, who gets what. Without one, the law decides, and the law doesn’t know your family, your intentions, or your child.

The problem nobody thinks about: what if your child is still a minor?

This is where single-child families face a risk that often gets overlooked. If something happens to you while your child is under 18, that child cannot legally hold, manage, or operate assets in their own name. Someone else has to step in.

If you haven’t named a guardian in a Will, the court will decide who that is. It could be your spouse, a grandparent, a sibling, but now it will be decided by a judge. Court-appointed guardianship also takes time, and during that gap, bank accounts, property, and investments can sit frozen or become difficult to access.

A Will lets you name a guardian yourself, someone you know will raise your child the way you’d want and manage their inheritance responsibly until they’re old enough to do it themselves.

Minors and Money: A Dangerous Combination

Even when guardianship is settled, there’s a second problem. What happens the day your child turns 18 and suddenly becomes entitled to a large sum of money, a property, or an investment portfolio all at once, with no experience managing any of it?

It happens more often than people think: a young adult inherits a significant asset overnight, with no structure around it. Sudden access to money at that age, without guidance, can lead to poor decisions, mismanagement, or exploitation by people who don’t have the young person’s best interests at heart.

This is exactly what a trust is designed to solve

A Will can do more than just name who inherits what, it can also set up a trust, which controls how and when your child actually receives it.

Instead of your child getting everything in one lump sum at 18, a trust allows you to structure the release of assets in stages, a portion at 21, more at 25, the rest at 30, for instance. Until then, a trustee you’ve chosen manages the assets on your child’s behalf: paying for education, healthcare, and reasonable living expenses, while protecting the bulk of the inheritance from being spent unwisely too early.

This isn’t about not trusting your child. It’s about ensuring they have the financial maturity to handle significant wealth responsibly. A Will with a trust provision can provide that structure, even when you’re not there to guide them.

Banks Won’t Just Hand Over Your Assets

Here’s a practical reality many families discover the hard way: banks, insurance companies, and government offices don’t release funds or transfer property simply because someone says they’re the rightful heir.

Without a Will, your family will need to obtain a succession certificate, letters of administration, or a legal heirship certificate from a court. These processes can take months, sometimes longer, and often requires legal fees, court appearances, and paperwork most families aren’t prepared for. All at a time when they are already dealing with the loss of a loved one.

A registered Will, gives your child (or their guardian) a clear, recognised document to present to any bank or institution. It says, clearly and legally, who is authorised to act. That single document can be the difference between your child accessing what’s rightfully theirs within weeks, or being tied up in procedural delays for a year or more.

A Simple Document, an Outsized Difference

None of this requires a complicated estate plan. A well-drafted Will for a single-child family typically needs to cover:

Guardianship- who raises your child if you’re not there, until they’re 18

Asset distribution- what your child (and possibly your spouse) inherits, and in what shares

A trust structure- if the inheritance is significant, to release assets responsibly as your child matures

An executor- someone who ensures your wishes are actually carried out, and who deals with banks, registrars, and other institutions on your family’s behalf

Drafting this while you’re healthy and have time to think it through is far easier and far cheaper than your family trying to sort it out later without your guidance.

Conclusion

Having only one child may seem to make succession simple. In reality, it can bring its own challenges, who will care for your child, how they will manage an inheritance, and how their assets will be transferred without unnecessary delays. A Will can help address these concerns.

A Will is not just for the wealthy or the elderly. It is for any parent who wants to make sure that, if the unexpected happens, their child is cared for by the right people, receives what is meant for them, and is not given more financial responsibility than they are ready to handle.

A Will doesn’t just decide what happens to what you leave behind. It protects the person you leave it to.

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