As there are many acts defined in our books of law but one of the prominent which most of the people are not aware of is The Indian Succession Act, 1925. A succession certificate is a type of certification, which is legally issued by a court of law to the legal heirs of the property. With the help of the certificate, it gives them the authority to inherit debts, securities, and other assets of the deceased. The reason for the succession certificate is limited to the securities and debts such as Provident Fund, Bank deposits, shares, debentures, insurance, or any other security issued by the Central Government of India or respective State Government.
The main objective of a succession certificate is to collect debts and gives ultimate protection to the parties eager to pay debts to the legal heirs of the deceased individual.
What is the probate of a will?
A Probate of a Will once issued by the court can be used by legal heirs in financial institutions such as banks, private organizations to get the funds to be released in the name of the account of the deceased. This is applicable in such cases where the nominee of the property is not a direct or a legal beneficiary of the asset. Also, when in certain cases, the nominee is not ready to distribute the asset to the legal beneficiary. A succession certificate is much useful to prove if the legal heirs are genuine when the legacy amount is large. Additionally, it is observed that certain state authority requests to get the probate of a will and succession certificate is mandatory to transfer the title of any immovable property.
How to Obtain Succession Certificate?
Here are a few important pointers mentioned that helps to procure a succession certificate successfully:
- The beneficiary of the property or asset has requested to approach the court and file a petition to issue a succession certificate.
- The judge in the District Court tries to identify within where the deceased was actually staying at the time of his death. Else, if the deceased has no fixed place to stay, then the Judge tries to figure out within whose jurisdiction part of the property is found and grants a succession certificate.
- The court petition should include important details such as the Name of the Petitioner, relationship with the deceased person, name of all legal heirs of the deceased, date, time, and place of the sad demise. Death certificate or any other document which court may require should be submitted as when requested by legal authority
- Once the petition is submitted the court will issue a notice to all the concerned legal heirs and issue a notice in the local newspaper to fix a timeframe for any objections may come forward. After a span of one to one and a half months no one turns up, and then the court will issue a succession certificate to the petitioner.
- If the petitioner is more than one then the court will grant certificates for a single asset, but, not more than one to each property.
- Once the District Judge grants a succession certificate they specify all the debts and securities in the name of the deceased in the application for the certificate. This gives the power to the person to receive interest on securities, negotiate or transfer the securities, and last but not least receives the monetary benefits of the securities.
- With regards to the fees levied by the court, they charge a fixed percentage of the value of the property. It is paid in the form of judicial stamp papers of the said amount and the applicant is bound to pay the fees to the lawyer.
Conclusion
To conclude, we can say that, it is really important to understand what is the probate of a will & how it can help you to claim the property of legal heirs if the will is not prepared by them. With the help of a succession certificate, you can get the benefits from their debts and securities and enjoy life happily. Make sure to follow the above points to obtain a certificate legally.
