‘More than 60% of India’s rich feud over inheritance’

Source :Press Trust of India:Dubai:: Wed Nov 16 2011, 00:32 hrs


Forty per cent of the globe’s wealthy population has direct experience of their family fortune leading to disputes, but the percentage is even higher in India, where 61 per cent of the rich have seen relationships deteriorate into feuds over money, according to a new report.


In contrast, 53 per cent of respondents in Singapore, 51 per cent in Hong Kong and 51 per cent in Monaco have experienced family tension as a result of wealth, as against just 11 per cent in Qatar.


The Barclays Wealth Insights report also reveals that 35 per cent of global high net worth individuals do not trust their children or step-children to protect their inheritance.


“When it comes to passing on wealth, 35 per cent of global high net worth individuals do not trust their children or step-children to protect their inheritance,” the report says.


The Barclays Wealth Insights report, titled, ‘The Transfer of Trust: Wealth and Succession in a Changing World’, was released here on Monday. It is based on a global survey of more than 2,000 high net worth individuals.


Globally, developed countries display higher levels of uncertainty when it comes to trusting their children and stepchildren to look after their wealth.


Respondents in the Middle East (78 per cent), Africa (77 per cent) and Latin America (75 per cent) show high levels of trust in their children and step-children when it comes to money management and protecting their inheritance when compared to Australia (59 per cent), North America (61 per cent) and Europe (62 per cent), the report said.