Shares, ESOPs, and private holdings don't transfer automatically when a shareholder passes away or wishes to gift their stake. Equilay handles nominee registration, succession documentation, transmission of shares, and will drafting — so your equity reaches the right hands, correctly and legally.
What You Get
Most shareholders — founders, employees, and investors alike — never plan for what happens to their equity after they're gone or if they wish to gift their stake. Without a registered nominee, a will that covers private company shares, and a clear transmission process, equity can be locked up in legal disputes for years.
Equilay handles the entire succession chain — from registering nominees with the company today, to drafting a will that correctly addresses share transmission, to processing the actual transfer when the time comes.
Core Services
Each service addresses a specific legal obligation or risk point in equity succession and transfer.
Register a nominee for every share class with the company — equity shares, preference shares, and CCPS. Completed within 48 hours with board acknowledgement and register entry, giving nominees clear legal standing.
Most wills drafted by general lawyers miss private company shares, ESOP clauses, and nominee co-existence rules. We draft equity-specific will clauses — or review and amend your existing will — to cover every holding correctly.
On the death of a shareholder, we manage the full legal transmission process — succession certificates, probate documentation, board approval, share certificate reissuance, and register update — end to end, no handoffs.
Gifting shares to a family member? We compute stamp duty, draft the gift deed, obtain board consent where required, and update the register and share certificates — fully compliant with the Companies Act and Income Tax Act.
ESOPs create unique succession challenges — nominee exercise rights, lapse on death rules, and tax treatment differ from equity shares. We document ESOP succession correctly and ensure nominees understand their rights.
Every transmission and gift transfer triggers MCA filings, register amendments, and shareholder record updates. We handle all statutory work post-transfer — so the company's records are always clean and audit-ready.
How It Works
We handle succession proactively — before it becomes an urgent legal problem.
We audit all share classes, ESOP grants, and nominee registrations to identify gaps — missing nominees, will clauses that don't cover private shares, and unregistered transfers.
We register nominees with the company and draft equity-specific will clauses — or review your existing will and identify what needs to be added or corrected to cover your holdings.
When a gift or transmission is needed, we prepare all legal documents — gift deeds, succession certificates, board applications, and shareholder notices — and manage the entire process to completion.
We update the company's share register, issue new share certificates, and file required MCA forms — leaving a clean, statutory-grade record of the succession or transfer.
Who It's For
Succession planning isn't just for large estates — every shareholder in a private company needs it.
Your shareholding is often your most valuable asset. A missing nominee or a will that doesn't cover your private shares can lock your family out for years. We make sure that never happens.
Vested and unvested options have different succession rules — and most ESOP plans have lapse clauses that aren't well understood. We document nominee rights and ensure families know what they're entitled to.
Holdings in multiple early-stage companies — across share classes and investment rounds — need a structured succession plan. We consolidate, document, and register nominees across all holdings.
When a shareholder dies, the company has legal obligations — processing the transmission, updating registers, and filing with MCA. We take that burden entirely off your team.
Client Stories
What founders and families say about Equilay's Will & Transfers service.
I hadn't thought about what happens to my shares if something happened to me. Equilay reviewed my holdings, registered nominees in 48 hours, and drafted a will clause that actually covers my private company shares. Completely peace of mind.
We had to process the transmission of a founder's shares after a sudden passing. Equilay handled everything — succession certificates, board filings, register updates. The family didn't have to deal with any of the legal complexity.
Gifting shares to my spouse seemed simple until we realised the stamp duty, deed requirements, and board consent involved. Equilay handled everything in a week — gift deed, MCA filing, updated share certificate. Seamless.
Explore More
Will & Transfers is one of seven specialist solutions. Here's what else Equilay handles.
Book a free 30-minute consultation. We'll review your holdings and identify any succession gaps — before they become a problem.