Legal Heir / Succession Certificate

Legal Heir/Succession Certificate

Succession certificate is a legal document granted to the legal heirs of a person who has died intestate i.e. without a will. A succession certificate helps in establishing the legal heirs of a person and allot the debts and assets owned by the deceased. A court grants a legal heir certificate to the successors of the deceased and helps them in transferring the debts and securities of the deceased in their own name.

Legal heir certificate is an important lelgal document that is used to determine the appropriate successor for the ownership of an asset or a property on the sudden demise of the registered owner. Legal heir certificate is also called as successor certificate and brings to light the eligible owners to whom the property has to be handed over. Legal heir certificate is issued by the Tahsildar after conducting a proper investigation with the appropriate heirs.

A legal heir certificate/succession certificate is granted by the court in accordance with the personal laws governing the deceased person and his/her legal heirs. The securities for which such certificate is required includes all kinds of stocks, debentures, bond, promissory note or shares. It is also pertinent to obtain a legal heir certificate to establish a relationship between the deceased and the claimants in case of pension, life insurance, etc. before different government authorities.

During property registration, the buyer should always ask for the legal heirs certificate to ascertain ownership of the property being purchased. In some cases, if there is more than one legal heir for a property, all legal heirs should sign on the deed of conveyance as there is a requirement of getting the signature from all the legal heirs. Not obtaining the consent of all legal heirs while purchasing ancestral property to lead to litigations in the future.

Procedure for Obtaining Succession Certificate

To obtain a succession/legal heir certificate, a succession certificate application is filed by the family lawyer with the District Court who has jurisdiction over the area where the deceased used to live at the time of his/her death, or where the property owned by the deceased is located. The legal heir certificate application must include details like the time of death of deceased, address of the deceased, details about the family or near relatives and the rights of the person on whose behalf the application has been filed.

Importance of  Legal Heir Certificate & Succession Certificate

• Legal heir certificate: This certificate is used for many purposes such as insurance, gratuity, PF retirement claims, pension etc.
• Succession certificate: This certificate is used for possession or transfer of the property or for security or paying the debts on behalf of the deceased person or for collecting the debts or security on behalf of deceased.

Required Documents:

Legal Heir Certificate:- 

• Original death certificate
• Identity Card
• Ration Card
• Name of the family members and relationship
• Date of Birth Proof of all legal heirs.
• An affidavit worth Rs.20 on a stamp paper.

Succession certificate-

• Original death certificate of the deceased person
• Time and place of death
• Names of all the legal heirs and their relationship with the deceased person.

Eligibility

• The certificate can be claimed by the following people:
• Wife of the deceased.
• The child of the deceased.
• Father or mother of the deceased.
• Sibling of the deceased.

Time Period

• Legal heir Certificate: Around 15 days to 30 days are required for the issuance of the legal heir certificate.
• Succession certificate: Firstly, a newspaper notice for a span of 45 days is issued by the court. If any individuals have any kind of objections towards the particular advertisement then they have a chance to file an opposition in the court. When the objections are received by the court it might take time for the issuance of the succession certificate till all of them are cleared.