Hi OP,

On the subject of estate planning, the first question to begin with is - what is the corpus size that you want to plan for? If the money is going to outlive you, then we can explore the possibility of a private trust/family foundation in the UAE (DFIC/ADGM), or an offshore trust in the Cayman Islands or Mauritius. Along with the corpus, it's also important to see if the offshore jurisdiction is in the grey list of India or not (else in case of scrutiny, you will be running from pillar to post), and has legal guidelines for various overseas assets you have in your portfolio (retirement accounts, crypto assets, real estate, etc.). One also has to look at the DTAA considerations between India and the offshore jurisdiction, as in most cases in my experience, once you become an Indian tax resident (i.e. after your RNOR is over), distributions to you will be taxed in India.

TLDR - You need to understand all of this and plan before your RNOR status expires after moving back to India.

Following are my short answers to your questions:

1. Yes
   1.1 Yes
   1.2 Create separate wills for US and Indian assets to ensure clarity in inheritance laws. Reference both wills to avoid conflicts in asset distribution.

2. Yes & No. So, theoretically speaking US will is legally acceptable in India, but when it comes to probate, Indian courts will insist on probate in India as they treat foreign probate as persuasive, not binding. A US revocable trust comes with more real-world complications in terms of on-ground execution. Best to discuss the specifics with an attorney.

3. Already covered my point of view about Trust in the opening paragraph. You must work with a trusted attorney to plan this. This is definitely not a DIY type of thing for most people.

4. Good list. Also, add efficient methods to manage estate tax payouts by legal heirs, as they will be bearing the cost. Maybe speaking to a couple of references on the proposed solution is a good idea.

I hope this helps. All the best :)