Legal procedure in absence of will
my father passed away in feb 2016 with out any will or beneficary. he have a land in vada,thane on his name as HUF AND 10 lakhs in bank only on his name no, HUF or beneficary. i and my brother want that my mother gets everything for which we have given her POA, Do we need probate or sucessen letter or both,,what shouid we do?how much it would cost including lawyer fees. BOTH land and bank are in wada,Thane, but we live in mumbai. the land is agriculture land 12 acre, my father was a farmer and did farming for his living.
Dear Sir
As far as your case is concerned no probate will be required as there is no will. As far as bank money is concerned, the bank will call you to obtain the succession certificate and as far as the land is concerned you have to approach the land records office and have to apply for necessary changes in the land records along with required documents.
Feel free to contact me for the same.
Regards
Deepak Raut
There should be no problem with the 10 lakh rupees. Since you, your brother and your
mother are his only heir, you can decide as to how to deal with the 10 lakhs among
yourselves.
However, the land may be a problem. You have mentioned that it is a HUF. Since, your father
had not left behind any will or something, the succession will be governed by the Hindu
Succession Act, 1956 amended in 2005. As per S. 6(3) of the abovementioned Act, your
father is entitled to get a share in the HUF after a notional partition has been made. Now, all
three of you will inherit your father’s share in the HUF as per S. 8 of the abovementioned act.
You and your brother can then give your share to your mother. But then again, if the HUF
consists of only you, your father, your mother and your brother, then you can easily give up
your shares to your mother completely.
As there is no will or beneficiary, the question of probate does not arise here. Probate is an
instrument to validate the will. Succession letter is essentially a form of will. This case will
only be an intestate succession governed by the abovementioned Act. Regarding, the fees of
the lawyer, it is a subjective matter.
Answered by Arnab Ray, Legal researcher at Lawfarm.