Dilpreet Bajwa 07 January 2023

Unregistered will legal or not

Dear all, my beloved father passed away very unexpectedly. He left behind his will which is signed by 2 witnesses. However, the will is not registered. He has 3 legal heirs, me, my mother, my sister. We all are absolutely ok with the contents of the will and there is no dispute what so ever. How do I go about it now?? There is a lot of confusion. My sister is an NRI. Me and mother in India. Looking forward to your replies. Thanks a lot.

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Quick Summary

An unregistered will, signed by the testator and two witnesses, is considered legally valid in India, provided it is the last will and there are no disputes among the heirs. If you are in a presidency city like Mumbai, Kolkata, or Madras, you may need to obtain a probate from the court. Otherwise, you can proceed with mutating the will by obtaining the deceased's death certificate and a legal heir certificate.

3 Replies

kavksatyanarayana (subregistrar/supdt.(retired)) 07 January 2023

An unregistered Will is valid if it is the last will. When there is no dispute you can mutate your 3 names showing the will. You have to obtain your father's death certificate and legal heir certificate from the concerned.

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Advocate Bhartesh goyal (advocate) 08 January 2023

Yes, unregistered will if bearing signatues of testator and two witnesses ,is perfectly valid.If you are residing in presidency cities ( Mumbai,Kolkatta and Madras ) then you have to get probate of will from competent court else it's o. k, you can get mutated it.

1 Like