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KNOWLEDGE HUB

Glossary

Probate, codicil, coparcener, succession certificate: the words of estate planning, in plain English.

A

Administrator
The person a court appoints to collect and distribute an estate where there is no will, or no executor able to act. Their authority comes from letters of administration.Letter of Administration →
Advance medical directive
A document, often called a living will, recording whether you want life-sustaining treatment if you become terminally ill and cannot say so yourself. It deals with treatment, not property.Living Wills →
Ancestral property
Broadly, joint family property that has come down from a father, grandfather or great-grandfather, in which members of a Hindu undivided family acquire an interest by birth. Whether a particular property is ancestral is often a difficult question.Partition Deed →
Attestation
The signing of a will by witnesses who saw the testator sign, or acknowledge the signature. A will needs two attesting witnesses to be valid.Will →

B

Beneficiary
Anyone who receives something under a will or a trust.
Bequest
A gift made by will. A bequest of land is sometimes called a devise.

C

Class I heirs
Under the Hindu Succession Act, the relatives who inherit first, and together, from a Hindu man who dies without a will: his widow, children, mother, and the children of a child who died before him.
Codicil
A short document that adds to, changes or revokes part of an existing will, signed and witnessed with the same formalities as a will.Codicil →
Coparcener
A member of a Hindu undivided family who holds an interest in its joint property by birth. Since 2005 daughters are coparceners, as sons are.

E

Estate
Everything a person owns at death, less what they owe.Estate Planning →
Executor
The person named in a will to carry it out: to gather the assets, pay the debts and hand over what each beneficiary is given.Will →

F

Family settlement
An agreement among family members dividing property between them to settle or avoid a dispute. Courts look on genuine family settlements favourably.Family Settlement Deed →

G

Gift deed
A document transferring property during the giver's lifetime, without payment. A gift of immovable property must be stamped and registered.Gift Deed →
Guardian
A person responsible for a minor child, or for the child's property. A parent can appoint one by will.Appointment Of Guardian →

H

Hindu undivided family (HUF)
A joint family of people descended from a common ancestor, with their spouses and unmarried daughters, which can own property and is taxed separately. Its head is the karta.

I

Intestate
Dying without a valid will. The estate then passes by the rules of succession in the person's personal law.Legal Heir Certificate →

L

Letters of administration
A court's grant allowing an administrator to deal with an estate where there is no will, or the will names no executor who can act.Letter of Administration →

M

Mutation
The entry of a new owner's name in the municipal or revenue records after a transfer or a death. It records who pays the tax; it does not by itself prove ownership.

N

Nominee
The person a bank, insurer or other institution pays on the holder's death. In most cases the nominee holds the asset for the legal heirs rather than owning it.

P

Partition
The division of jointly held property, often of a joint family, into separate shares, by agreement or by a court.Partition Deed →
Power of attorney
A document authorising another person to act for you. It ends on your death, so it can never take the place of a will.Power Of Attorney →
Privileged will
A will that a soldier, airman or mariner on active service may make informally, even orally, under the Indian Succession Act.
Probate
A copy of a will certified by a court, confirming the will and the executor's authority to administer the estate. Compulsory in some cases, notably for certain wills in Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata.Probate →

R

Registration (of a will)
Recording a will with the sub-registrar. It is optional and carries no stamp duty, but it creates an official record that makes the will harder to dispute.Will →
Release deed
A document by which a co-owner or heir gives up their share in a property, usually in favour of the other co-owners.Release Deed →
Residue
Whatever is left of an estate after debts, expenses and specific gifts. A residuary clause says who receives it; without one, it passes as if there were no will.
Revocation
Cancelling a will, by a later will or codicil, by a written declaration made with the same formalities, or by deliberately destroying it.Revoking of Will →

S

Self-acquired property
Property bought with your own earnings, or received by gift or will, which you can leave as you choose within your personal law.
Succession certificate
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.Succession Certificate →
Survivorship
The rule by which a joint owner's interest passes to the surviving joint owners rather than to their own heirs.

T

Testator
The person who makes a will.
Trust
An arrangement in which trustees hold and manage assets for beneficiaries, on terms set by the person who creates it.Trust Registration →

W

Wasiyat
A will made by a Muslim. It can dispose of no more than one third of the net estate without the heirs' consent, and may be oral.
Will
A written declaration of how you want your property dealt with after your death, signed by you and attested by two witnesses. It can be changed at any time until then.Will →

This guide is general information about Indian law, not advice on your own situation. The answer for a particular family often turns on facts that only a consultation can bring out.

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