Intestate succession
என்றும் அழைத்தார்: dying without a will, intestacy
How a person's property is inherited when they die without a valid will. The heirs and their shares are fixed by the succession law that applies to the person.
A person who dies without a valid will dies intestate. Their property then passes to the heirs named in the succession law that applies to them, in the shares that law sets.
Which law applies
- Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs and Jains: the Hindu Succession Act, 1956.
- Muslims: Muslim personal law.
- Christians, Parsis and others not covered above: the Indian Succession Act, 1925.
- Some States and Union Territories have their own rules, for example Goa.
Under the Hindu Succession Act
When a Hindu man dies intestate, his property goes first to the Class I heirs in the Schedule to the Act, including his widow, sons, daughters and mother, who share equally (Sections 8 to 10). A Hindu woman's property passes under Section 15. Since the 2005 amendment, a daughter is a coparcener in a joint Hindu family by birth, with the same rights as a son; the Supreme Court confirmed in Vineeta Sharma v Rakesh Sharma (2020) that this does not depend on the father being alive on 9 September 2005.
What heirs usually need
- Death certificate and proof of relationship.
- A legal heir certificate or a succession certificate, depending on the asset.
- Agreement among heirs, or a partition deed or relinquishment deed, to divide or consolidate property.
See the asset declaration for heirs and the NOC from legal heirs.
கீழே உள்ள ஆதாரங்களுக்கு எதிராக சரிபார்க்கப்பட்டது 7 நவம்பர், 2026 IST. இந்திய சட்டம் பற்றிய பொதுவான தகவல்கள், உங்கள் வழக்குக்கான சட்ட ஆலோசனை அல்ல.