Securing your family’s legacy with clarity and compassion

A succession certificate is granted by the District Court under Part X of the Indian Succession Act, 1925. It lets the named heir collect the deceased’s bank deposits, fixed deposits, shares and similar debts and securities.

The usual sequence is: get the death certificate; ask the bank in writing what it requires; prepare a petition under section 372 listing every legal heir and every account; file it in the District Court where the deceased ordinarily lived; go through notice, any objections and a short hearing; and then receive the certificate, often after giving an indemnity bond or security. Uncontested petitions commonly take several months.

A legal heir certificate (also called a heirship certificate) is an administrative document from the revenue office that records who the surviving legal heirs are. Probate is a court order confirming that a Will is genuine and authorising the executor to act on it.

The first answers “who are the heirs?”. The second answers “is this Will valid, and who may carry it out?”. If there is no Will, probate does not arise. The court grants that apply are then a succession certificate (for money and securities) or letters of administration.

For Hindu, Sikh, Jain and Buddhist Wills made, and relating to property, outside Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai, probate is generally not compulsory by law. In practice, banks, registrars, buyers and co-operative societies often insist on it, and probate gives the Will the court’s endorsement.

For Christian and Parsi Wills, probate is generally needed to establish rights as executor or legatee in court. Muslim Wills follow Muslim law and are not subject to the same requirement. We confirm the position for your Will before recommending a route.

Often yes, or at least it is the safer route. A nominee is the person the bank or company can safely pay, but nomination alone does not generally decide who owns the money. The legal heirs, or the people named in a Will, can still have a claim to it. Life insurance has special rules that can give close-family nominees stronger rights.

Many banks release funds to a nominee against an indemnity. If the balance is large, or the heirs disagree, a succession certificate or probate is the better protection.

The surviving holder can usually continue to operate the account and be paid, depending on the mandate (for example “either or survivor”). That is a rule about who the bank can safely pay. It does not by itself settle who is finally entitled to the money.

If the funds were the deceased’s, the heirs can still have a claim, and the survivor may be asked to account for it. Take advice before spending or moving large sums.

The law of the deceased’s religion decides. For Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists, the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 applies. A man’s property goes first to his Class I heirs together: widow, sons, daughters and mother, along with the children of a child who died earlier. If there are none, Class II heirs follow, beginning with the father. For Muslims, fixed Shariat shares apply. For Christians and Parsis, the Indian Succession Act, 1925 applies.

Because heirs can include people families overlook, such as the deceased’s mother or the children of a predeceased child, a careful family tree is the first thing we draw up.

Start with a thorough search: the deceased’s papers, bank lockers, their advocate or chartered accountant, and the Sub-Registrar’s office if the Will may have been registered. Keep any copy or draft you find.

If the original is lost, a court can sometimes allow its contents to be proved by other evidence, but the bar is higher and the petition needs careful drafting. A Will that cannot be proved is treated as if it did not exist, and the estate passes as if there were no Will.

Largely, yes. Many steps can be done by an authorised representative in India under a power of attorney that you sign before a notary abroad and have apostilled (or attested by the Indian embassy or consulate). Affidavits can be prepared the same way.

If the court needs your evidence, it may allow it by affidavit or by video-conferencing, at the judge’s direction. Moving inherited funds out of India is subject to FEMA rules, and we advise on that alongside the succession work.

Yes. Since the 2005 amendment to section 6 of the Hindu Succession Act, a daughter is a coparcener in joint family property by birth, with the same rights and liabilities as a son. In Vineeta Sharma v. Rakesh Sharma (2020), the Supreme Court held that this does not depend on whether the father was alive on 9 September 2005.

Daughters are also Class I heirs to a father’s self-acquired property if he dies without a Will. A father can, however, leave his self-acquired property to anyone by Will.

It depends on the route and on whether anyone objects. As a general guide, a legal heir certificate from the revenue office often takes 15 to 45 days. An uncontested succession certificate or probate typically takes about 4 to 9 months in court. Contested matters take longer, sometimes years.

These are estimates, not promises. Court calendars and office practice vary.

The cost has several parts: an ad valorem court fee on the value of the debts and securities claimed (set by each state’s court-fee law); the indemnity bond or security the court may require; notice and publication charges; and the advocate’s fee. Because the court fee depends on the value of the assets, there is no single figure.

After reviewing your asset list, we give you a written estimate of the likely costs and timeline before you decide to proceed.

Yes, one or more heirs can apply, but the petition must disclose all the legal heirs, and the court notifies them. A certificate granted to one heir lets that person collect the assets. It does not take away the other heirs’ shares, and the money must still be shared correctly.

If heirs disagree about their shares, a separate partition or declaration may be needed.