Table Of Content
- Does a Will need to be Registered in India?
- What if I don’t Register my Will?
- What Documents are Required for Will Registration?
- What is the WILL Registration Procedure?
- How much does it Cost for Registration?
- Can a will be Registered anywhere in India?
- Conclusion
- Frequently Asked Questions
A Will is a legal document that someone creates when they desire to divide their property and assets. Although it is a common misconception that a Will can be prepared as a person is becoming older, this is untrue. Young, healthy individuals may also draft their own wills, but they must be adults over the age of 18. You can add and remove elements from your will as many times as you’d like throughout your lifetime. You are even allowed to create multiple Wills. But can you declare it valid simply by creating it? Don’t believe it! A Will registration must be done in India to declare it valid. We will be discussing it in brief below:
Does a Will need to be Registered in India?
WILL Registration is stated that it is not compulsory to register but it is recommended to get your WILL registered because it increases the authenticity and validity of the WILL. If you want a Will to get accepted legally then eventually it has to be registered in court. You know if you get your Will registered then after your death the executor does not have to go through the rough process of probation. Let’s dig into the procedure to probate a Will:
After the death of the concerned person both the executors along with the legal heir need to visit the nearby district court to probate the Will. The Will will be put on display on the Notice board of the District Court for 3 months. If someone objects within the tenure period of 3 months then other proceedings will be held which would be a hectic one.
NOTE: What does probate mean? If you don’t have registered a Will in India then you need to probate it. Probate means after all the proceedings are done and when the judge puts his stamp on it and it is declared as legal.
What if I don’t Register my Will?
Not registering your WILL is also a choice. Though it is not compulsory to get the WILL registered but for more authenticity it is recommended to get it registered in the near Sub-Registrar Office. An Unregistered WILL is considered as legal as an registered WILL and also registration of will after death of the testator can be done without any hurdles.
What Documents are Required for Will Registration?
The documents required for WILL Registration Online are as follows:
- Two passport size photographs only of Testator.
- ID Proofs (Aadhaar Card) of both the Witnesses and Testator.
- Original copy of WILL signed by the Testator.
- Residential Address Proof of the Testator.
Also Read, Types of Will
What is the WILL Registration Procedure?
Before the WILL registration process you are required to prepare a WILL on a plain paper. After that WILL registration is carried out at the Sub-Registrar office, created by the State governments, in accordance with the Registration Act. The Will registration procedure are as follows:
- A witness should go to the Registrar with the testator once the WILL has been written in order to have it registered.
- Following execution, the WILL can be registered and put in safekeeping with a bank or attorney.
- Wills may also be received and held in trust by registrars. When depositing a will with the Registrar, the testator or any other person lawfully authorized by the testator should be sealed.
- The Registrar would hold the cover containing the will after the identification of the testator or the person authorized by the testator was confirmed.
How much does it Cost for Registration?
Basically the WILL registering charges in India can be quite expensive depending upon the requirements of the testator or executor. And if your requirement is for draft only then the costing is usually from ₹500-₹1000. A testator can register only a single Will which is labeled as ‘last and final Will’. Although, the Will registration fee varies from State to State. In general the amount of ₹10,000 to ₹15,000 a testator needs to pay including the Will registration fees. Will registration online also apply.
NOTE: No Stamp duty on WILL is charged only the WILL registration cost is charged around 600/- to 800/-.
Can a will be Registered anywhere in India?
Yes, you can get your Will registered anywhere. The location of property is not a matter if the property is of Jharkhand then you can get it registered in the Sub-registrar office of Delhi near your residence . Hence, WILL registration Online is also applied in a few states only.
Also, it would be beneficial if the registration of WILL is done before the testator’s death because if the registration of will after death of the testator is done so the executor has to go through a lot of procedures.
You can read our detailed blog on Will vs Gift Deed to know the difference between these both legal documents.
Conclusion
A WILL registration is indeed important because everyone wants security toward their legal documents and avoids redoing them because it takes a lot of time and effort. Which is difficult to give in this busy schedule. Now drafting a WILL has become much easier than before since you can draft them through Online websites within a few steps your WILL is prepared. eDrafter provides both QUICK and CUSTOMIZED WILL options choose yours!
Frequently Asked Questions
Certainly not, when you register a Will in India it automatically represents a legal Document. That this Will can not be denied now in any case or circumstances occur in that point of time. Plus probating a Will only occurs when the certain person who wrote that Will is dead then this probation process will be taken up by the Witnesses and legal hear in the local district court.
Online Registration of WILL is not possible to be checked since the WILL is stated as a ‘Secret Document’ and the inside clauses are strictly not disclosed to bystanders/public. So the data related to the WILL registration online is not available. Further only the Testator and the executor have the access to the inside cluses of the registered WILL.
The contents of a Will is not disclosed to anyone, not even the family members. The reason behind this is just to avoid the disputes that occur after getting to know about contents inside that Will.
For example, If a father distributes his assets between his three sons and the youngest one gets the most of it then it might happen that the bonding between the sons can disrupt which leads to a big hole in the family itself. That is why a Will is called a Secret Document.
Adrika Mishra – Content Writer
Adrika Mishra is a Content Writer with a passion for writing crisps and well researched pieces. With a graduate degree in Mass Communication and over a year of hands-on experience in writing content for the web. Adrika is a person brimming with creative instincts. Constantly seeking to learn and grow, she uses writing as a medium to document her knowledge on topics she is passionate about. When not working, Adrika can be found grooving to music. Believing in the power of “The pen is mightier than the sword”, Adrika hopes to inspire and educate readers through her writing.
