Questions people ask us

RiteWill helps Indian families with their Wills, and with the legal paperwork a family needs after a death: probate, succession and legal heir certificates, property matters and help for senior citizens.

RiteWill is a technology platform, not a law firm. Documents prepared through RiteWill are reviewed by independent advocates, whose engagement is with you directly. Nothing on this site is legal advice.

A practising advocate reads every document before it reaches you. Nothing goes out on software alone.

Yes. Hindu, Muslim, Christian or Parsi, different rules apply to each, and for some couples the rules depend on how they married. We follow the law that applies to you, and your state's process.

Our registered office is at i-12, Old Airport Road, Diamond District, Kodihalli, H.A.L. II Stage, Bengaluru North, Bengaluru, Karnataka – 560008. Consultations are held by video, so you can speak to us from anywhere.

If you own anything and care who receives it, yes. Without a Will, the law of succession decides who gets what, your family may need court certificates before banks and offices will release anything, and small doubts can turn into disputes.

A modest estate left without a plan can take a family as long to settle as a large one.

Under the Indian Succession Act, a Will is in writing and signed by you, then attested by two witnesses. You must be of sound mind and at least eighteen years old, and each witness must attest in your presence.

The details differ by the personal law that governs you. This is where most home-made Wills fail.

Two adults who watch you sign. Choose people who receive nothing under your Will: a gift by a Will to a witness, or to a witness's spouse, fails, although the Will itself still stands.

No. Registration under the Registration Act, 1908 is optional, and an unregistered Will is valid. But registration puts the document on a public record, makes it far easier to prove that it was properly signed, and takes away one common line of attack: that the Will was made up after the death.

Registration alone does not prove a Will valid. The legal requirements for signing and witnessing must still be met.

Stamp duty on a Will itself is nominal, and the registration procedure varies by state. The cost that catches families out comes later: court fees on probate, assessed on the value of the estate and varying by state.

Yes, at any time while you are alive. You can make a new Will, or add a codicil: a short document that changes part of an existing Will, signed and witnessed with the same formalities as a Will.

Yes. A nominee is, in most cases, a custodian. The asset belongs to whoever your Will names or, without a Will, to your heirs under the law of succession. If they are different people, the heirs have to claim it from the nominee.

Under Muslim personal law, a bequest cannot exceed one-third of the net estate, worked out after funeral expenses and debts. Anything beyond one-third, and generally a bequest to a legal heir, needs the consent of the other heirs. The Sunni and Shia schools differ on the details.

Yes. Your undivided share in joint family (coparcenary) property can be left by Will, under section 30 of the Hindu Succession Act. Without a Will it passes by succession. Since 2005, daughters are coparceners, as sons are.

A living will, or advance medical directive, records whether you want life-sustaining treatment if you become terminally ill and cannot say so yourself. It deals with medical treatment, not property, and is separate from your Will.

They die intestate, and their property passes by the rules of succession in their personal law. Which rules apply depends on religion, and for some couples on how they married.

The family will usually need certificates first: a succession certificate for deposits and shares, a legal heir certificate for pensions and some assets, or letters of administration from a court.

His Class I heirs, together and first: his widow, his children, his mother, and the children of a child who died before him.

A certificate, usually from the tahsildar or another revenue officer, naming a deceased person's legal heirs. It is used to transfer pensions, utilities and some assets. It is not proof of title.

A civil court's certificate authorising an heir to collect a deceased person's debts and securities, such as deposits and shares. It does not deal with land.

Probate is a formal grant issued by a competent court to an executor appointed under a Will. It establishes the executor's authority to administer the estate in accordance with the Will and applicable law.

Probate is different from simply possessing a Will or registering it. A Will records the testator's wishes, while probate provides formal legal authority to the executor where the law requires and the court grants it.

No. Whether it is required depends on the applicable succession law, the nature of the Will, the jurisdiction and the circumstances of the estate.

It is compulsory for Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists and Parsis where the Will is made in, or deals with immovable property in, the original jurisdiction of the Bombay, Madras or Calcutta High Court.

A bank or other institution asking for probate does not, by itself, mean probate is legally compulsory.

Under Section 222 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925, probate is granted only to an executor appointed by the Will. If the Will appoints no executor, or none can act, an eligible person may need to apply for letters of administration with the Will annexed instead.

A beneficiary does not become an executor simply because they inherit under the Will.

No. Probate gives the executor the authority conferred by the grant. The executor must administer the estate in accordance with the Will and the law, including paying lawful liabilities and distributing assets to the people entitled to them.

They vary with the court and the estate. Commonly required:

• The original Will and any codicils
• The death certificate
• Identity and address proof of the applicant
• Details of the executor and beneficiaries
• Information on the deceased person's assets and liabilities

There is no single timeline. It depends on the court's workload, how complete the application is, service of notices, evidence, and whether anyone objects. An uncontested matter moves differently from a contested one.

Costs can include court fees, legal and professional fees, document preparation, certification and translation. Court fees vary by state, so there is no single probate fee for every estate in India.

Yes. An interested person may raise objections, for example about:

• Whether the Will was properly signed and witnessed
• Whether the testator had the required capacity
• Fraud, coercion or undue influence
• Whether the Will is genuine, or a later Will exists

The original Will is ordinarily required. In limited circumstances a copy, draft or statement of its contents may be considered, depending on the facts and the law.

A probate grant does not ordinarily expire simply because time has passed. It may be affected by legal proceedings, including revocation where legally justified.

Matters that protect the legal rights, welfare, maintenance, property and dignity of older persons. In India they may be governed by the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007, along with other laws, and may need applications before the Maintenance Tribunal or other proceedings.

Proof of life for a pension authority or institution, also known as a Jeevan Pramaan in India's digital pension system. Pensioners, retired employees and people receiving annuities commonly need one, to keep payments going. The format, method and deadline differ by scheme.

It lets you authorise someone you trust to handle specified matters for you when you are unavailable, or would rather delegate them.

It does not transfer ownership of property to the agent. Their authority is limited to the powers the document grants and the law allows.

You meet an advocate by video. Choose a time from the advocate's calendar, and your confirmation, with the link to join, follows by email. Times are shown in your own time zone, so families abroad can book too.

A private consultation is ₹5,000. If you go on to commission the service, the fee is credited in full against your matter.

Yes. Every consultation is recorded and transcribed for your file, so that nothing you tell us is lost. You are told so before you book. The recording and transcript are kept privately with your matter, seen only by those working on it, and never used for any other purpose.

A Will starts from the prices on our pricing page, by the tier that fits your family. For every other service, we agree the fee with you before any work begins.

In two equal halves, each through a secure payment link we send you. The first half is paid once the scope and fee are agreed in writing, and the work begins. The balance is paid when you approve the final draft, before it is signed.

A consultation booked in your client area can be moved or cancelled there until a day before it. Within a day of it, or for any other booking, please call us.

Your own page for your matter: where it stands, your documents, messages with your advocate, and the consultations your tier includes. It opens once your matter has begun.

There is no password. You sign in with a code sent to your email; use the address you gave your advocate, as codes go only to that one.

In India. The site and everything submitted through it run on infrastructure located in India, and your documents are kept privately with your matter, seen only by those working on it. We never sell or share your information.

A video message you record at home, in your own time, for the people you name. It stays sealed until it is released to them. It carries feeling, not legal effect, and forms no part of your Will.