Legal Status of Nominee: The Dilemma in the Context of Bangladesh

In the Indian sub-continent, the idea of a nominee has been introduced by the British Colonial rulers. This concept has prevailed in Bangladesh for more than a century. This is one of the basic concepts related to financial transactions and asset distribution. A nominee is essential for the disbursement of the deceased’s assets e.g. money deposited in a bank, provident fund, insurance money, etc. However, different views prevail in Bangladesh related to the legal status of a nominee. Some existing legal statutes as well as judicial decisions compare the role of a nominee with a trustee. According to this view, a nominee only receives the benefits and is obliged to distribute them among the legal heirs of the deceased. Just like a trustee, a nominee holds the assets for the benefit of others. At the same time, some legal statutes and judicial decisions consider a nominee as an absolute owner of the nominated assets. There is hardly any consistency among the existing legal statutes related to the status of a nominee. Differences in judicial decisions while determining the status of a nominee create further anomalies. This study aims to find out the drawbacks and shortcomings of the current legal framework in this regard. The study further explores the possible solutions to mitigate the confusion concerning the legal status of a nominee. In doing so, the author applies qualitative research methodology along with document analysis for the understanding of existing laws related to nominees.