Getting a succession certificate can be a lengthy and complex. It requires a whole list of documents to get the succession certificate. Here is the detailed information that will acknowledge you with the essential aspects of the certificate.
Death is an unpredictable thing and is a matter of fact that can not be avoided. But the concern after the death of an individual is about the succession of their properties and other assets. These assets may include bank balance, real estate properties, vehicles, fixed deposits or any other investments made by the deceased person. To acquire them, you need to get a succession certificate.
If the person has written their legal will, then the whole process gets sorted. But if there are no such authorised documents, then taking the help of Succession Law is advisable. The law helps in the succession of property to the deserving person(s) if there is no will from the owner who has died.
Various documents and certificates can be required to acquire these properties. Here is the complete insight into Succession law and How to get a succession certificate?
What is a succession certificate?
Generally, if a person dies due to any unfortunate incident, then its legal will hold power to succeed or transfer all the assets and the debt of the person. For instance, if a person dies with a legal will written, the ownership of assets would shift to the person he would have specified in the will. It could be the son, daughter, wife, brother or any other relative or friend.
But in many cases, mostly due to sudden death, no legal will of the person is available. Hence it is required to claim all those assets legally. In such a scenario, the family apply for a succession certificate which can validate a person as a legal successor. As already mentioned, any debt in the name of the deceased person would also be acquired with the certificate. This is formulated under sections 380, 381 and 382 of the Indian Constitution.
This certificate is necessary to acquire all those properties. Moreover, the repayment of a deceased person’s debt would be only valid if paid by the succession certificate holder. The district judge can issue the certificate under which your legal matters are assigned. Once you apply for the certificate, a full prosecution would be done to investigate the person’s death.
What are the documents required to file a Succession Certificate?
During the application for a succession certificate, a list of documents is required to authenticate you as the legal successor. Some charges would be applicable during the application and must be paid through the judicial stamp papers. With these papers, the following documentation would be required.
- No Objection Certificate(NOC) from legal heirs of the person who died.
- Details of legal heirs of the deceased person
- Information about the family of the deceased person
- Proper data of assets, securities and debts taken by the person who died
- Complete property details of the deceased person
- Location of the expired person at the time of death
- Time of death
- The petitioner who has applied for the rights of succession certificate
Remember, it is compulsory to file a petition in the court to initiate the Succession Certificate process. The petition should contain all the important documents, IDs, or any other information asked for. Make sure that the petition is filed at the appropriate district court.
A relevant district court would consider where the deceased person usually lives.
No matter where the person died the place where the person used to live would consider into legal records
How to get the Succession Certificate?
The process of getting a succession certificate can be divided into 4 major steps. These steps should be performed in the correct order, and all the documents related to them should be kept handy. As applying for them during the process would lead to a huge delay in issuing.
Step 1
The process starts by filing the petition to the district court. Prepare a proper petition with your name and signature on it. File the same in the name of the appropriate district court. Some fees are applicable in order to file the petition successfully.
Step 2
If everything worked fine and succeeded, the petitioner would be called to court. The court will prosecute with a preliminary hearing of the petition admitted. Hearing notices can be sent to anyone the applicant thinks is relevant.
Step 3
This will be the deciding step, as the judge would either decline your application or accept it as relevant. After hearing all the parties, the judge would decide on whether the petitioner should be granted the certificate or not. If he is satisfied with the witnesses and hearing, the certificate will be issued in your name. Hence, one will get the succession certificate.
Step 4
Apart from the application, submitting a bond with one or multiple sureties and other security is highly required. This is done to eliminate any chance of misuse of the certificate
Can a succession certificate revoke?
Due to any fault during the application or bellowed specified conditions, a request for a succession certificate can be revoked. This is clearly mentioned in Section 382 of the Indian Succession Act.
- The very first condition for the same is a flawed process.
- If a succession certificate is taken with fraud papers, it could be immediately declined.
- This can also be cancelled legally if the certificate becomes useless or unfunctional. This can happen due to various reasons.
- If the prosecuting or investigating team found the applicant’s request wrong or unjust, then the court holds the right to cancel the certificate immediately.
If the petitioner is unsatisfied with the district court’s decision, they may knock on the door of the high court to get justice. Another thing to keep in mind is that the Succession certificate can be only used to acquire the movable asset of the deceased person. If the successor wants all other remaining properties, then Legal heir certification will be appropriate. The process of getting a succession certificate can be lengthy and can take up to 45 days.
Conclusion
So, this is some important information you should know before getting the succession certificate. If you cannot fulfil the requirement of the succession certificate, then you may also choose the Legal Heir certificate. This certificate is intended only for the legal heir of the deceased person.
If you are looking for some professional legal service, Vakilsearch can be an ideal choice. We can help prepare all the important documents for the petition and get the certificate. At the same time, we also offer other legal and tax services at an affordable price. You can check out our services on our website and mobile application.
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