India: Wills/ Intestacy/ Estate Planning

What happens when there's no will? In this episode of Legal Podcasts powered by IndiaLaw LLP, host Riddhi Agarwal sits down with Darshana Velani to decode the basics of intestate succession in India.

Equality is India's most celebrated yet one of the most broken constitutional promises. In a case before the Rajasthan High Court – Manni Devi v. Rama Devi & Ors., the Court reviewed a provision of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 ("HSA")...

The Hon'ble Supreme Court of India, in its judgment dated 17 July 2025 in Gurdial Singh (Deceased) through LR v. Jagir Kaur (Deceased) and Another, declared a will invalid due to suspicious circumstances surrounding its execution.

Clarifying the distinction between ancestral and self-acquired property in Hindu law, the Supreme Court of India has held that the mere existence of sons and daughters in a joint Hindu family...

The Supreme Court ("SC"), in Leela and others case,1 held that a will is not deemed valid simply by being registered. Rather, it must be proven in compliance with Section 682 of the Evidence Act, 1872 and Section 633 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925.

This article examines the devolution of property under the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, and the 2005 Amendment, with a focus on Sections 6, 8, 14, and 15.

In India, Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) are subject to the country's succession laws concerning the inheritance of property situated within Indian territory.

Probate is the legal process of proving a will in Court and confirming its validity. The purpose of probate is to ensure that the deceased person's assets are distributed according to his wishes, as stated in his Will.

On 28 August 2023, a two judge bench of the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India comprising of Justice C.T. Ravikumar and Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia, in its decision in M. Sivadasan Through L.Rs. & Ors. vs. A. Soudamini Through...