Power of Attorney and lockers: boring continuity
A Power of Attorney is not a dramatic document. It is not about control or suspicion. It is about continuity — the ability of a trusted person to act on your behalf when you cannot be present.
For NRI families, a POA is essential. You cannot fly to India every time a property document needs a signature, a bank account needs an operation, or a folio needs a nomination update. A properly drafted POA — specific in its powers, limited in scope, and given to someone you trust completely — keeps your India financial life operational from a distance.
For ageing parents, a POA is equally important. The day a parent cannot visit the bank — because of health, because of mobility, because of a hospital stay — is the day their finances freeze. Bills cannot be paid. FDs cannot be renewed. Insurance premiums cannot be transferred. Unless a child or trusted family member holds a POA that allows them to operate the account.
The locker is a related concern. Bank lockers in India have become more regulated. The RBI now requires a nomination for every locker. If the locker-holder passes away without a nomination, the surviving family faces a lengthy process to access the contents — documents, jewellery, property papers — at a time when access is most urgent.
Both the POA and the locker nomination are boring pieces of paperwork that take an afternoon to complete. They are not exciting. They are not glamorous. They are the infrastructure of continuity — the reason a family can keep functioning when health, travel, or loss interrupts the usual way of doing things.
We check POA and locker status during every annual review at Dhansanchay. It is a five-minute conversation that prevents a five-month crisis.
We would rather you own less and understand more than the reverse. Use notes like this to ask better questions — not to shortcut diligence. Scheme documents, costs, and your own goals still come first. Written for general education — not as individual investment, tax, or legal advice.