Succession certificate

Our Law Firm provides legal services and information: For the Knowledge of Clients, who is looking for SUCCESSION CERTIFICATE, must know the following Procedure of Law:

In case you have to obtain a Succession Certificate, you have to follow these steps:

The Application is to be made in the court, where the properties of the deceased relative are situated or where he / she normally resided. Depending on the value of the estate of the deceased, the matter shall go according to the pecuniary jurisdiction of the court.

A succession certificate is issued by a civil court to the legal heirs of a deceased person. If a person dies without leaving a will, a succession certificate can be granted by the court to release the securities and other assets of the deceased.

It establishes the authenticity of the heirs and gives them the authority to have securities and other assets transferred in their names. It is issued as per the applicable laws of inheritance on an application made by a beneficiary to a court of competent jurisdiction. A succession certificate is necessary, but not always sufficient, to release the assets of the deceased. For these, a death certificate, letter of administration and no-objection certificates will be needed.

Application:

A petition needs to be filed with the district court or high court within whose jurisdiction the asset is located.

Details Required:

The name and relationship of the petitioner, names of all heirs of the deceased, details about the time, date and place of death should be mentioned in the application. A copy of the death certificate has to be produced.

Process:

The court typically issues a mandatory notice for a given period (generally 3 to 4 weeks). Upon the expiry of the time period from the date of publication of the notice after the respondents have given their no objection and if no one contests the petition on the expiry of this period, the court passes an order for issuance of succession certificate.

Fees:

The court imposes a fixed percentage of the value of the estate as fee for issuance of the certificate. The court fee has to be paid in the form of judicial stamp papers, for which you have to then submit Judicial Stamp papers of sufficient amount (as per the prescribed court fees structure) in the court, where after the Certificate is typed by the court staff, duly signed and sealed and delivered.

In addition to the court fee, the lawyer's fee also needs to be taken into account.

If the petition is not contested, the court usually issues a succession certificate; we believe it should roughly take about 4-6 months from date of filing to receive your certificate.

DISCLAIMER:This article is for general information purposes only. Always consult a Lawyer before you proceed with your case. Your situation might need a different approach.