India is a country of diversity and the population consists of people having varied religion, languages, faith and culture. To contain the various cultures and preferences and the specific rules describe by the religions laws, the division of property of a person after his death is based on the religion of the deceased person.
The Indian Succession Act, 1925 primarily deals with division of property after death of the person. Under the Indian Succession Act,after death of a person the property of deceased is divided into two parts -:
- Intestate succession.
- Testamentary succession.
Intestate succession is take place as per the law of inheritance applicable to the deceased one in which the deceased person had no preference as to the division of the property. Testamentary succession is applicable when the deceased one has created a Will and as per the Will, the property will divide among the legal heirs after his/her death. When a person died without making a Will, the property of the person is divided as per the inheritance law applicable to the deceased person. Hence when someone died without a Will, the procedure of transferring the property it is called intestate succession.In case where a deceased owner of property does not leave a Will behind, the legal heirs of the person will inherit the property/assets as per the provisions prescribed under the Hindu Succession Act, 1956. As per the act the first preference is given to Class-I legal heirs. Class I legal heir includes close relatives like spouse, parents, children and their successors. The sons, daughters, and parents will have equal shares in the property. A spouse will also be entitled to one of the share. However, in case where more than one surviving spouses, then they all will share the one portion they are entitled to. The wish of a person with respect to division of his or her property is done legally through a Will. Hence, anyone who wishes to transfer their property NOT as per the law of inheritance applicable to them can do so through creating a Will. Succession which is done by the directions given in a Will or any other testamentary document is called as a testamentary succession.
Despite leaving a will it is still compulsory for the legal heirs to obtain a succession certificate from the court for the movable assets such as cash, bank accounts, shares etc. Succession Certificate is a legal document for distribution of the securities and debts due or payable in the name of the deceased. For obtaining the succession certificate, an application needs to be made to the court. These laws enable the persons who will be entitled to the property after the death of the person.