Will or testament is a legal document by which a person, the testator, expresses his wishes as to how his property(ies) is to be distributed at death, and names one or more persons, the executor, to manage the estate until its final distribution. Law of WILL is very important to understand so that beneficiary does not face legal complication.

1. CONCEPT OF WILL
By Ms. Ira Gupta, Advocate
Mobile No.: 9818976099

2. WHAT IS WILL?
 Will or testament is a legal document by which a person, the
testator, expresses his wishes as to how his property(ies) is to be
distributed at death, and names one or more persons, the
executor, to manage the estate until its final distribution.
 Will mainly aims at:
 Wishes of the testator
 Disposition of property
 Primary characteristics of Will:
 Takes effect after the death of testator
 Revocable during the lifetime of testator

3. LAWS IN INDIA
 A will made by a Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh or Jain is governed by the
provisions of the Indian Succession Act, 1925.
 However Mohammedan are not governed by the Indian
Succession Act, 1925 and they can dispose their property
according to Muslim Law.
Statues:
 Indian Succession Act, 1925
 Hindu Law (Hindus Personal Law)
 Muslim Law (Muslims Personal Law)
 Indian Registration Act, 1908

4. ADVANTAGES OF WILL
 Avoidance of any family dispute by clear disposition of property
 Fraudulent persons can be excluded
 Help reduce the amount of Inheritance Tax
 Special responsibilities can be catered towards any needy family
member
 Special provision can be made for any non family member
 Laws of inheritance and succession are complicated

5. KINDS OF WILLS
 Privileged Wills
Persons who can make a privileged Will are the following:
(a) Soldier / airman employed in an expedition or engaged in actual warfare;
and
(b) mariner at sea.
Privileged Will is a special Will made in extraordinary circumstances
like war or dangerous expedition.
 Unprivileged Wills
Every person who is not entitled to make a privileged Will can only
make an unprivileged Will.

6. WHO CAN MAKE A WILL?
 Every person who is of sound mind and major
 Person who is willing to write a Will without any influence,
coercion or pressure.
 Persons who are deaf or dumb or blind, if they are able to know
what they do by it..
 A person who is ordinarily insane may make a Will during an
interval in which he is of sound mind.
 Prisoners and Aliens

7. WHO CANNOT MAKE A WILL?
 Corporate bodies
 Person who is intoxicated or ill to a level that he cannot understand
the terms of Will
 Minor

8. FOR WHOM THE WILL CAN BE MADE?
 Any person capable of holding property can be a beneficiary/legatee
under a Will
Like a minor, lunatic, a corporation and other juristic person can be
a legatee.
 Sections 112 to 117 of ‘Indian Succession Act, 1925’ put some
restrictions on the disposition of property by Will in certain case
 If the minor person has been named as legatee by a testator then a
guardian should be appointed by the testator himself to manage
the bequeathed property.
 Where there is no beneficiary of Will in existence at the time of
testator's death.

9. WHAT PROPERTIES COVERED
BY WILLS?
 Any movable or immovable property can be disposed off by a will by
its owner, that property must be a self acquired property of that
person and it should not be an ancestral property of the testator.
 If the testator has acquired his share in the ancestral property, then
he can make a Will for his share.
 Indian laws do not recognize spousal rights on property. So, a
husband has no right to make a Will about the property of his wife
and vice versa.

10. KEY INGREDIENTS OF A WILL
 Testator Details
 Declaration In The Beginning
 Details of Property and Documents
 Details of ownership By The Testator
 Beneficiary Details
 Desires to be carried into effect after his / her death
 Appointment of Guardian, in case of minor
 Executor of the Will
 Revocation of previous Will, if any
 Signature and date
 Numbering of paragraphs and pages
 Two or more Attesting Witness

11. CODICIL TO THE WILL
 Few changes in the Will
 Without changing or altering the entire Will
 Can be altered and revoked

12. REVOCATION OF WILL
 Will can be revoked, during the lifetime of testator when he is
competent, in following manner:
 By execution of subsequent/new Will
 By writing and declaring an intention to revoke previous Will
 By registration of new Will
 By destruction of old Will
 In case of marriage of a Parsi or Christian testator, his/her Will
stands revoked (however, this does not apply to Hindus, Sikhs,
Jains and Buddhists)

13. REGISTRATION OF WILL
 As per Registration Act, 1908, Registration of Will is not compulsory,
its optional.
 In case of a registered Will, all subsequent alterations or
modifications (Codicils) should also be registered.
Advantages of Registration of Will:
 Security of Will is enhanced as it is inaccessible to the general public
 If registered and not contested, then Probate need not be obtained.
 No time limit for registration
 Strong legal evidence about the execution of Will
 Reduces chances of any challenge against the execution of Will

14. PLACE OF MAKING THE WILL
 Indian courts give importance to the intentions of the testator.
 A Hindu living in any part of the world but having Indian domicile
may execute a Will at any place in the world under the laws of India
for bequeathing his / her immovable properties in India and
movable properties in every part of the globe.
 It may also be pointed out that the witnesses attesting a Will under
Indian laws need not be Indian citizens or Indian residents.

15. PROBATE OF A WILL
 It is the copy of the will which is given to the executor together with a
certificate granted under the seal of the court and signed, by one of
the registrars, certifying that the will has been proved.
 The application for probate shall be made by petition along with copy
of last Will and testament of the deceased to the court of competent
jurisdiction.
 The copy of the will and grant of administration of the testator’s
estate together, form the probate.
 The probate court (whether it is the District Court or High Court) has
been granted and conferred with exclusive jurisdiction to grant
probate of a Will of the deceased.

16. WHERE PROBATE IS COMPULSORY?
 Wills that are made in the areas of West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa,
Assam and within the local limits of the ordinary original civil
jurisdiction of the High Courts of Madras and Bombay.
 Wills that are made outside these territories but where the
property is situated in these territories also require a probate.
 The Indian Succession Act also mentions that a probate is only
required for Wills made by Hindu Buddhist, Sikh or Jains. Thus,
no probate is required for Wills made by Muslims.

17. WILL UNDER MUSLIM LAW
A Will under Mohammedan Law is called as Wasiyat, which means a
moral exhortation or a declaration in compliance with moral duty of
every Muslim to make arrangements for the distribution of his estate
or property.
Under Muslim law, the testamentary right i.e. the right to transfer the
properties through will, is restricted in two ways:
 i. There is a restriction upon the quantity of property bequeathed.
 ii. In respect of the person (legatee) to whom the property is given.

18. THANK YOU