Will

Will: a practical guide to your rights, the procedure and what to do first. Legals365 is the legal platform of Advocate B.K. Singh and associates, based in Delhi NCR.

In short. A will passes property as the person chose; without one, personal law decides the heirs (for Hindus, the Hindu Succession Act 1956). Probate proves a will in court, a succession certificate lets heirs collect debts and securities such as bank deposits and shares, and letters of administration cover estates with no executor. Mutation and transmission then put assets in the heirs' names.

When someone dies, the family usually faces two questions at once: who gets what, and what papers will the bank, the housing authority or the company registrar accept before they release anything. The first is answered by the will, if there is one, and by personal law if there is not. The second depends on the asset. A flat, a fixed deposit, a demat account, a share in a partnership firm and agricultural land each move through a different office with its own demands.

This page explains how wills are made and proved, when probate or a succession certificate is needed, how intestate succession works, how heirs actually transfer property and money, and what happens when the family disagrees. It also covers succession planning for business owners, because a will that ignores the business often causes more trouble than no will at all. The law described is the position as of October 2026.

Law

Indian Succession Act 1925 (wills, probate, letters of administration, succession certificates); Hindu Succession Act 1956; Muslim personal law under the Shariat Application Act 1937; Registration Act 1908 s.18 (optional registration of wills)

Forum

District Judge for probate, letters of administration and succession certificates; the Delhi High Court on its original side for testamentary cases above its pecuniary limit; civil court for will challenges and partition

Probate

No longer a legal precondition anywhere in India after section 213 of the Indian Succession Act was omitted by the Repealing and Amending Act 2025, but still used where there is a dispute, a large estate or an institution that insists

Time limit

Article 137 of the Limitation Act (3 years) is applied to testamentary petitions, though courts treat the right to apply as continuing; suits to set aside a document generally within 3 years of knowledge

Court fee

Ad valorem under the state court-fees law, calculated on the value of the estate or of the debts covered; check the current schedule

Documents

Death certificate, original will, family tree, proof of relationship, list and value of assets, nomination records, ID and address proof of heirs, title papers

Wills, succession and inheritance: what each term means

Inheritance is simply the passing of a dead person's property to others. It happens in one of two ways. Testamentary succession means the property passes under a valid will. Intestate succession means there is no will, or the will fails, and the personal law of the deceased decides who inherits and in what shares.

Probate is a certified copy of the will issued by a court with a grant of administration to the executor named in it. It proves the will against everyone, which lawyers call a judgment in rem. Letters of administration do the same job where there is no will, or where the will names no executor or the executor will not act. A succession certificate is narrower: it authorises the holder to collect debts and securities owed to the deceased, such as bank deposits, loans given, shares and debentures. It does not decide title to immovable property.

A legal heir certificate is different again. It is an administrative document issued by the revenue authorities, usually the SDM or Tehsildar, listing the surviving family members. Many offices accept it for pension, small bank claims, electricity and water connections and mutation, but it does not prove a will and does not settle disputes.

Making a valid will in India

Any adult of sound mind can make a will of property they own. Under section 63 of the Indian Succession Act, the will must be in writing, signed by the testator (or marked by thumb impression), and attested by two witnesses who each saw the testator sign or received an acknowledgment of the signature. There is no prescribed form and no stamp duty. A will on plain paper, properly signed and witnessed, is as valid as one on e-stamp paper.

Registration under section 18 of the Registration Act is optional. A registered will is not automatically valid and an unregistered one is not automatically suspect, but registration before the Sub-Registrar helps in practice: the original is preserved, the testator's presence and identity are recorded, and it becomes harder to argue that the will was made up later. A short video of the signing, a medical note on mental fitness for elderly testators, and witnesses who are younger than the testator and easy to trace all make the will far easier to prove.

Keep beneficiaries away from the witness role. Under section 67 of the Indian Succession Act, a bequest to an attesting witness or the witness's spouse is void, although the rest of the will stands. Our page on drafting a will covers clauses in more detail.

What a will can and cannot do

A will can only deal with property the testator owns outright. A Hindu can bequeath self-acquired property and his or her interest in coparcenary (ancestral) property, which section 30 of the Hindu Succession Act allows, but cannot give away the shares that other coparceners already hold by birth. Since the 2005 amendment to section 6, daughters are coparceners by birth in the same way as sons, and the Supreme Court settled in 2020 that this applies whether or not the father was alive on the date of the amendment.

A Muslim can generally bequeath only one third of the estate after funeral expenses and debts, and cannot leave property to a person who is already an heir, unless the other heirs consent after death. Wills by Muslims may even be oral, though a written will is far easier to prove. Christians and Parsis are governed by the Indian Succession Act itself for both wills and intestacy.

A will also cannot defeat a joint holding that passes by survivorship, and it does not override the terms of a lease from DDA, Noida, Greater Noida or GDA that require the authority's permission for transfer. In those cases the will decides who is entitled, but the authority's process still has to be followed.

Which document heirs need for which asset

Probate after the 2025 change

Until recently, section 213 of the Indian Succession Act barred an executor or legatee from claiming any right in court under certain wills unless probate had been obtained. It applied mainly to wills of Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists and Parsis made within the old Presidency towns of Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata, or dealing with immovable property there. Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana were never covered, so probate was already optional for most families in Delhi NCR. The Repealing and Amending Act 2025, which received assent on 20 December 2025, omitted section 213, so probate is no longer a legal precondition anywhere.

That does not make probate irrelevant. The provisions on probate and letters of administration remain in force, and a grant still binds the whole world. Banks with large balances, housing authorities, and companies holding substantial shareholdings may still ask for it before acting on a will, and courts will continue to grant it. Probate is worth taking where the estate is large, where property sits in several states, where some heirs were left out, or where you expect a challenge later. A grant now prevents a fight in five years when witnesses have died.

If the will is unlikely to be disputed and the institutions involved accept it with affidavits and indemnities, families often proceed without probate. That is a judgment call, not a rule, and it should be made after checking what each office will actually accept.

How to obtain probate or letters of administration

The process is similar for probate (where there is a will and an executor) and letters of administration (where there is no will or no executor).

1. Collect the original will and facts

   The petition must annex the original will, or explain where it is. Gather the death certificate, the full list of legal heirs with addresses, and a schedule of assets with their values on the date of death.

2. Choose the right court

   File before the District Judge with jurisdiction where the deceased lived or where the property lies. In Delhi, testamentary cases above the High Court's pecuniary limit go to the Delhi High Court on its original side; in Gautam Buddh Nagar, Ghaziabad and Gurugram they go to the District Judge.

3. File the petition and pay court fee

   The petition under section 276 is verified by the petitioner and at least one attesting witness, with a valuation of the estate. Court fee is ad valorem under the state court-fees law and is often the largest single cost, so value the assets carefully.

4. Citations and publication

   The court issues notice (citation) to all legal heirs and directs publication in a newspaper. Heirs may give consent affidavits, which speeds things up considerably.

5. Proof of the will

   If no one objects, an attesting witness proves the will by affidavit or testimony. If an heir files objections, the petition becomes contentious and is tried like a suit under section 295, with evidence on both sides.

6. Grant and administration

   The court grants probate or letters of administration, sometimes after an administration bond and surety. The executor or administrator then collects the assets, pays debts and distributes the estate.

An uncontested petition in Delhi NCR commonly takes some months, depending on service of notice and the court's list. A contested one can run for years, which is why consent affidavits from family members are worth asking for early.

Succession certificate: when you need one and how to get it

A succession certificate under Part X of the Indian Succession Act (sections 370 to 390) is the usual answer when a bank, company or debtor refuses to pay heirs without a court document. It covers debts and securities only. You apply under section 372 to the District Judge where the deceased ordinarily lived, or, if there was no fixed residence, where any of the property is found. The petition lists the heirs, the debts and securities claimed, and the applicant's right to them.

The court issues notice to the heirs and publishes a citation. If no one objects and the applicant's right is clear, the certificate is granted for the specified debts, after the ad valorem court fee is paid on their value. Under section 375 the court can ask for a security bond. Uncontested certificates in Delhi, Surajpur and Ghaziabad commonly take a few months; an objection by one heir turns it into a summary inquiry, and the court decides only who has the better right to collect, not final title.

A practical point: heirs who all agree usually ask the court to grant the certificate in favour of one of them, with the others filing no-objection affidavits. The certificate holder then collects the money and distributes it according to the agreed shares. Our succession certificate documentation page lists the papers in detail.

Key provisions in succession matters

Intestate succession: who inherits when there is no will

For a Hindu, Sikh, Jain or Buddhist male who dies without a will, section 8 of the Hindu Succession Act gives the property first to the Class I heirs: mother, widow, sons and daughters, and the children of a predeceased son or daughter, among others. They take simultaneously and in equal shares at each branch. The father is a Class II heir and inherits only if there is no Class I heir. Many families are surprised that the mother inherits equally with the widow and children.

A Hindu woman's property goes first to her sons, daughters (including children of predeceased children) and husband. If she has no children, property she inherited from her parents goes back to her father's heirs, and property she inherited from her husband or father-in-law goes to her husband's heirs. Her self-acquired property follows the general order.

Muslim intestate succession follows fixed Quranic shares, and the rules differ between Sunni and Shia law. Christians and Parsis follow the Indian Succession Act: for Christians, the widow takes one third where there are lineal descendants and the rest goes to them. Because shares can be counter-intuitive, draw the family tree before anyone signs anything. Mistakes made in a relinquishment deed are very hard to undo later.

Transferring a house or flat after death

Inheritance gives heirs title automatically, but the records still show the dead owner's name until they are corrected. For freehold property in Delhi the change is made through the MCD for property tax and, where applicable, the society or RWA. In Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad, the authority records the transfer for leasehold plots and flats, and the UP Revenue Code governs mutation of land in the revenue records. Our pages on mutation after death and transmission of property go through each office.

Where several heirs inherit but the family wants one person to hold the property, the others usually execute a registered relinquishment or release deed in that person's favour. A relinquishment deed transfers an existing share; it must be stamped under state law and registered under section 17 of the Registration Act. Some states charge concessional duty within the family; check the current rate before booking a Sub-Registrar slot. See relinquishment deed drafting.

If the property is mortgaged, the heirs inherit subject to the loan. The bank will want the loan regularised or closed before it releases title documents, and in a home loan with insurance the claim should be lodged quickly. For a flat in a group housing society or an under-construction project, the builder's own transfer process and charges also apply, and it is sensible to check the allotment papers and the builder's records together.

Nominees, joint holders and the common confusion

A nominee is not the owner. Banks, insurers, depositories, provident fund authorities and housing societies pay or transfer to the nominee so that they get a valid discharge, but the nominee holds the asset for the legal heirs or the beneficiaries under the will. The Supreme Court has repeatedly confirmed this for bank deposits, insurance (subject to the beneficial nominee rule in section 39 of the Insurance Act for spouses, children and parents) and society flats.

Joint holding is different. A joint account operated as either or survivor passes to the survivor for operational purposes, but who actually owns the money depends on who contributed it and what the parties intended. Property bought in joint names passes according to the shares and the nature of the tenancy, and the deceased's share goes to his or her heirs or legatees.

When Advocate B.K. Singh reviews an estate, one of the first things he lists is every nomination, because families often assume the nominee owns the asset and divide the rest accordingly. That assumption, once written into a family settlement, causes disputes that a ten-minute review would have avoided.

Business succession planning

A business does not pass on death the way a flat does, and the structure decides what happens. A sole proprietorship has no separate existence: the assets pass to heirs, but licences, GST registration and bank mandates are personal to the proprietor and must be obtained afresh. A partnership firm dissolves on the death of a partner under section 42 of the Partnership Act unless the deed says otherwise, so a continuation clause and a clear method for paying out the deceased partner's share are essential.

Shares in a private company pass by transmission under section 56 of the Companies Act, but the articles may give other shareholders a right of first refusal, and the death of a director can leave the board without a quorum or authorised signatory. An LLP agreement should say whether the legal representative of a deceased partner becomes a partner or only receives the value of the contribution. In a Hindu Undivided Family, the senior coparcener becomes karta, and since 2005 a daughter can hold that role.

Business succession plans usually combine a will, an updated partnership deed or articles, a shareholders' agreement with buy-sell clauses, nominations, key-person insurance, and sometimes a private family trust under the Indian Trusts Act 1882. For companies and LLPs, the secretarial steps sit with our company and LLP compliance work. The aim is that someone can sign cheques and run payroll the week after a death.

Family settlements and partition

A family settlement lets heirs divide inherited property by agreement instead of by strict legal shares. Courts favour genuine family settlements made to avoid disputes. A memorandum that only records a settlement already arrived at orally generally does not need registration, but a document that itself creates or transfers rights in immovable property worth more than the statutory limit does. Drafting the line between the two is where most family settlement deeds go wrong. Our page on family settlement deed drafting explains the choices.

Where agreement fails, any co-heir can file a partition suit in the civil court where the property lies. The court first declares the shares by a preliminary decree, then divides the property by metes and bounds or orders a sale if division is not practical. Partition suits are slow and expensive, and the property often stays locked meanwhile. Mediation at the court's mediation centre resolves a large share of them.

Challenging a will or defending one

A will can be challenged on the ground that it was not properly executed under section 63, that the testator lacked mental capacity, that it was obtained by fraud, coercion or undue influence, or that it is forged. The person relying on the will must prove due execution. Courts also look for suspicious circumstances: a shaky signature, a beneficiary who was present and active at the signing, the exclusion of natural heirs without reason, or a will that surfaces months after the death. Once such circumstances appear, the propounder must explain them.

The challenge can be raised by filing objections in a probate or succession case, or by a suit for declaration and cancellation in the civil court. If you learn that someone is about to apply for probate, a caveat under section 284 ensures you get notice. If the will appears forged, a criminal complaint under the forgery provisions of the BNS (sections 336 to 340) is possible, but criminal and civil proceedings move at different speeds and should be planned together.

In will disputes that reach Advocate B.K. Singh's office, the weak point is usually the attesting witnesses. One has died, the other cannot remember the date, or both turn out to be the beneficiary's employees. The time to fix that is when the will is made, not when it is challenged.

Documents to gather

Common mistakes in wills and inheritance

• Witnesses who benefit. A beneficiary or spouse who attests loses the bequest under section 67, and their presence also looks suspicious.
• Willing away property you do not own. Coparcenary shares of children, a co-owner's share or property already gifted cannot be passed by will.
• Treating the nominee as owner. Nominees receive assets for the heirs; dividing the estate on the opposite assumption invites a later suit.
• Unregistered relinquishment. A plain affidavit giving up a share of immovable property does not transfer title; it needs a stamped, registered deed.
• Ignoring the lessor authority. For DDA, L&DO, Noida or GDA leasehold property, the authority's own transfer conditions apply even when the heirs agree.
• Delay. Witnesses die, documents go missing and heirs fall out. Start the paperwork within weeks, not years.

What to do this week

• Get several copies of the death certificate from the local body.
• Search for the original will, any codicil, and the deceased's papers at home, in a locker or with the family lawyer.
• List every asset and every nomination, with account and folio numbers.
• Draw the family tree and confirm each heir's address, including those abroad.
• Ask each bank, registrar and authority in writing what documents they need.
• Do not sign relinquishment, release or settlement papers until the shares and taxes are understood.
• If someone has filed or is about to file for probate and you object, lodge a caveat.

How the answer changes by property, family and place

For freehold property the heirs deal with the municipal body and the Sub-Registrar; for leasehold property the lessor authority's process comes first, and in Delhi a title verification before any sale by heirs is sensible because buyers and banks will ask for the full chain. Agricultural land in Delhi passes under the Delhi Land Reforms Act, in UP under the UP Revenue Code 2006 with mutation before the Tehsildar, and in Haryana under the Haryana Land Revenue Act, and the order of heirs for such land has its own history worth checking.

Where an heir lives abroad, documents signed outside India must be executed before an Indian consulate or apostilled and then stamped and registered in India within the time allowed. NRI heirs can inherit property freely, though repatriating sale proceeds follows FEMA rules. Where a minor is an heir, the court's permission under the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act is needed to dispose of the minor's share. Where there is a business, the partnership deed, articles or LLP agreement may override what the family expects.

If you want the papers checked before you act, the team of Advocate B.K. Singh at Legals365 can review them and tell you the next step: talk to a lawyer. For disputes that go beyond property, such as maintenance claims or family settlements involving elderly parents, see our page on family law disputes and settlements.

Frequently asked questions

Is probate of a will compulsory in Delhi?

No. Probate was never compulsory for wills made in Delhi, and since the Repealing and Amending Act 2025 omitted section 213 of the Indian Succession Act, it is not a legal precondition anywhere in India. Some banks, authorities and companies may still ask for it for large assets, and it is useful where a dispute is likely.

What is the difference between a succession certificate and a legal heir certificate?

A succession certificate is granted by the District Judge under the Indian Succession Act and lets the holder collect debts and securities such as deposits and shares. A legal heir certificate is issued by the SDM or Tehsildar and only lists the surviving family members. Banks often accept the latter for smaller amounts and insist on the former for larger ones.

Does a will need to be registered?

No. Registration is optional under section 18 of the Registration Act. A properly signed and witnessed unregistered will is valid, but registration helps preserve the original and makes it harder to challenge.

Who inherits if a Hindu man dies without a will?

His Class I heirs under section 8 of the Hindu Succession Act inherit together, mainly his mother, widow, sons and daughters, and the children of any predeceased son or daughter. Each branch takes an equal share. The father inherits only if there is no Class I heir.

Is the nominee the owner of the bank account after death?

Generally no. The nominee receives the money so that the bank gets a valid discharge, but holds it for the legal heirs or the beneficiaries under the will. Insurance policies have a limited exception for close family nominees under section 39 of the Insurance Act.

How long does it take to get a succession certificate?

An uncontested application in Delhi NCR usually takes a few months, depending on service of notice, publication and the court's list. If an heir objects, the court holds a summary inquiry and it takes longer. No-objection affidavits from all heirs speed it up.

Can a daughter claim a share in ancestral property?

Yes. After the 2005 amendment to section 6 of the Hindu Succession Act, a daughter is a coparcener by birth with the same rights as a son. This applies whether or not her father was alive on the date of the amendment, subject to partitions validly completed earlier.

Can a will be challenged after probate is granted?

Yes, but only by applying to the court that granted it for revocation under section 263 of the Indian Succession Act, on grounds such as fraud, defective proceedings or concealment. A probate grant otherwise binds everyone. Acting quickly matters because delay weakens such an application.

What makes a will look suspicious to a court?

Courts look at the testator's health and signature, whether the main beneficiary arranged the will, whether natural heirs were cut out without explanation, and when and how the will surfaced. None of these alone defeats a will, but each must be explained by the person relying on it.

Do I need a lawyer to make a will?

The law does not require one. But a lawyer can check that the property can be willed, avoid clauses that conflict with leases or partnership deeds, and set up the signing so that the will can be proved years later.

How do heirs transfer a DDA or Noida authority flat?

The heirs apply to the authority's transfer or mutation section with the death certificate, the will or proof of heirship, relinquishment deeds or NOCs from other heirs, and indemnities on the authority's format. Some authorities ask for probate or a court grant where the heirs disagree or the will is contested.

What is business succession planning?

It is arranging, while the owner is alive, who will own and run the business after death or incapacity. It usually combines a will, updated partnership deeds or company articles, a shareholders' agreement with buy-sell terms, nominations and sometimes a family trust, so that operations continue without a court case.