00:00Hello everyone, Advocate Chiranjeev Singh, Legal Associate at NRA Legal Services is
00:07here to apprise you all regarding wills under Indian succession laws.
00:13The concept of family is powerful in India.
00:17Post the death of a person, their heir can legally take ownership, rights and obligations
00:24of the property left by the deceased through a will.
00:27This video will give you a clear understanding of the concept of wills under Indian succession
00:33laws.
00:34In this video, I will be covering the following topics.
00:391.
00:40Introduction to wills 2.
00:43The wills made in India by NRIs pertaining to Indian properties
00:473.
00:49Wills made in India by NRIs pertaining to foreign properties
00:534.
00:55Wills made by NRIs in foreign pertaining to Indian properties
00:595.
01:01Wills made by NRIs in foreign pertaining to foreign properties
01:066.
01:07And lastly, we will be talking about the landmark judgement, so stay tuned until the end so
01:12that you do not miss out on any significant information.
01:176.
01:17Will is the legal declaration of the testator's intention on his property which he desires to
01:24be carried into effect after his death.
01:267.
01:28Simply put, a will is an important legal document that enables any living person to rightfully
01:35declare how he intends his assets and wealth to be divided after his death.
01:418.
01:43Making a will can help a person ensure that his wishes about his assets and property are followed
01:49dutifully and peacefully after his death.
01:539.
01:55India has a well-developed system of succession laws that governs a person's property after
02:00his death.
02:0110.
02:02These rules apply expressly to wills and codicils made by Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Jains, Parsis
02:10and Christians but not to Mohammedans as Muslim law governs their matter.
02:1510.
02:18The laws that apply to the making of wills are the Indian Succession Act 1925, Hindu personal
02:27laws, Muslim personal laws and Indian Registration Act 1908.
02:36Now persons who are competently create a will, as per section 59 of the Indian Succession Act,
02:4211.
02:43An individual of sound mind who has reached the age of majority is competent to create
02:49a will.
02:5011.
02:51The making of a will cannot be done by the following people.
02:541.
02:55Lunatics, insane or mentally disturbed persons.
03:002.
03:01Minors, that is below 18 years old.
03:04When a guardian is appointed to a minor, the age of maturity of such a child is taken as
03:0921 years.
03:11Our next topic is preparation of will.
03:15Anyone over 18 years of age can produce a will.
03:18An individual competent to understand what a will is, what type of property they are dividing
03:24and among whom they are distributing the property can constitute a will.
03:30Then we move on to our next topic essentials of a will.
03:33Firstly, the legal declaration.
03:36A will is a legal declaration.
03:39The documents purporting to a testament or a will must be legal, that is, in compliance
03:47with the law and must be administered by the person legally competent to execute it.
03:53It has to be signed and attested, as required by the statute.
03:59At least two witnesses must attest to the will document.
04:03Second point is the disposition of property.
04:06The declaration should relate to the disposal of assets of the person making the will.
04:12Third point is the death of the testator.
04:15A will becomes enforceable only after the demise of the testator.
04:19It gives no rights to the legate until the testator's passing.
04:25Remember, it has no impact during the lifetime of the testator.
04:29The testator can change his will at any time before his death in any manner he deems fit.
04:36Fourth is the revocability.
04:38The essence of every will is that it is revocable during the testator's lifetime.
04:44Now we move on to the forms and formalities of making a will.
04:49There is no prescribed form of a will.
04:52However, for it to be effective, it needs to be correctly signed and attested by the testator.
04:57The testator must put his initials at the end of every page and next to any sort of correction and
05:04alteration.
05:05Then is the language of the will.
05:07A will can be written in any language.
05:10No technical words need to be used in a will.
05:13However, the terms used should be clear so that the testator's intention is reflected in his will.
05:22Third is the stamp duty.
05:24No stamp duty is required to be paid for executing a will.
05:30A will need not be made on a stamp paper.
05:32Fourth is the registration.
05:35Under Section 18 of the Registration Act, the registration of a will is not compulsory.
05:42However, the registration is a strong legal evidence that proper parties had appeared before the registering authorities and the letter
05:52had attested the same after ascertaining their identity.
05:55A will must be proved duly and validly executed as required by the Indian Succession Act.
06:05Once a will is registered, it is placed in the safe custody of the registrar and therefore it cannot be
06:12tempered with, destroyed, mutilated or stolen.
06:17It shall be released only to the testator himself or after his death to an authorized person who produces the
06:24death certificate.
06:26Our second topic is wills made in India by NRIs pertaining to Indian properties.
06:34There are two types of wills, probated and unprobated.
06:38A probate is a copy of will certified by a tribunal.
06:43A probate is to be treated as a conclusive evidence of the genuineness of the will.
06:48The property can be easily transferred based on a registered will.
06:54In some states, unregistered wills are also acceptable for the transfer of property.
07:01Next is the process of transferring the property based on a will.
07:06For transferring the ownership, the relevant papers are to be submitted in the office of the sub-registrar.
07:15The documents required are
07:18Will
07:18A will can be registered or unregistered.
07:21In such a case, a certified copy of the will is submitted.
07:25If the will is unregistered, an attested copy of the will is to be submitted.
07:32Second is the probate
07:33A probate can be demanded if it is compulsory or if the will is not registered.
07:40However, probate is mandatory in certain states.
07:44Third is the succession certificate.
07:46Even if the will is there but not registered, the claimant through the will is sometimes asked to bring the
07:54succession certificate from the court.
07:57A succession certificate is generally required for movable property like bank accounts, shares, securities etc.
08:06Then we move on to the admissibility and value of wills in question in litigation matters.
08:13Where the will is in question in litigation matters, the will whether registered or unregistered needs to be proved as
08:22per the requirements of the law.
08:24If such a will is to be executed in litigation, then the same can be proved by complying with the
08:31requirements of proving the will.
08:34following are the requirements
08:361. You need the signature of the testator
08:402. The witnesses must duly attest the will
08:433. At least one of the witnesses should have appeared before the court proving the execution of the court
08:53Our third topic is wills made in India by NRIs pertaining to foreign properties.
09:014. When a will is made by NRIs pertaining to foreign property in India, then the law of the respective
09:08country shall prevail.
09:11Our fourth topic is wills made by NRIs in foreign pertaining to Indian properties.
09:175. Wills can be made in relation to Indian properties in a foreign country.
09:23The will should preferably be probated to ensure that will is not contested in Indian courts.
09:31It must be attested by two attesting witnesses who can prove the contents of the will if required.
09:406. Admissibility and value of the will in property transfer matters
09:45The property can easily be transferred based on a registered will.
09:50In some states, unregistered wills are also acceptable for property transfer.
09:56However, probate is mandatory in foreign will in states like West Bengal, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.
10:04Then our next topic is the admissibility and value of wills in litigation matters.
10:08The wills, whether registered or unregistered, needs to be proved as per the requirements of the law.
10:16If such a will is to be executed in litigation, then the same can be proven by complying with the
10:23requirements of proving the will.
10:26Then wills made by NRIs in foreign pertaining to foreign properties.
10:32In such a case, the law of that country shall prevail for such a will.
10:38Lastly, we have our landmark judgement.
10:41The honourable Supreme Court in Lalita b. Janthilal Popat vs. Prajna b. Jamnadas Katariya and others held the following.
10:501. The signature of attestator is a must.
10:56The witnesses must duly attest the will.
11:003. At least one of the witnesses should have appeared before the court proving the execution of the court.
11:084. If the appearing witnesses fails to prove the attestation by other witnesses,
11:13then he has not been able to prove the validity and legality of the will.
11:17Any other witness shall also have to be produced in the court.
11:21To conclude, it is safe to say that the execution of a will during the lifetime of a attestator is
11:29of utmost importance.
11:30With this document, the last wishes of the attestator can easily be brought out plus it reduces the chances of
11:37family disputes.
11:39It also covers the declaration of the entire estate owned by a attestator.
11:45Further, on the basis of the will, the assets can be given for charity purpose as well after the death
11:51of the attestator.
11:52However, it is highly recommended that after making the will, it should be registered to make it more reliable and
11:59a legally strong document.
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12:14Thank you so much for watching.
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