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Market Intelligence › Basic Terminologies
What nomination does, and why it matters that a nominee is not the owner
Published by The Retail Trader · JUL 31, 2026 · Compliance & Regulation
Every demat and trading account has a nomination option, and many people skip it. That skip becomes a problem not for you, but for your family.
A nominee is the person to whom assets are transferred when the account holder is no longer there. Its job is to make transmission simple.
But the nominee does not automatically become the owner. They receive the assets, and the final ownership is decided by succession law or by a will.
Nomination and a will do not replace each other:
• Nomination is the route for transfer, not a decision on ownership.
• A will decides ownership, but the transmission process does not become easier because of it.
• Once filled in, a nomination can be changed at any time.
• Every account, every fund folio and every bank has its own separate nomination.
This is a fifteen minute job that can save years of paperwork. And doing it once and forgetting it is not enough — looking at it again after a marriage, a child, or a loss in the family is the real process.
This article is for educational purposes only — it is not a buy or sell recommendation, makes no claim of guaranteed returns, and is not advisory. Rules, rates and mechanics are changed by the exchanges, SEBI and RBI from time to time, so verify every number yourself with your broker or the official source.