Under a will, the property passes to the person the will names when the executor assents to the bequest. Registering the will does not pass it, and a mutation does not pass it either; the Municipal Corporation of Delhi's order says a mutation confers no legal title or ownership rights. Under the Indian Succession Act, 1925 the estate vests first in the executor, and the Act allows the executor's assent to be verbal. A bank, a housing society and a municipal office each want their own written proof of it before they change their records, and each wants different proof.

Each of those offices has to be given the papers it will accept, and gathering them is what takes the time. WillJini's legal review settles at the start whether a will exists and which route the estate takes. Its team collects the declarations every office needs from each legal heir, including heirs living in other countries. It then files at the bank, the society and the authorities until the property, the accounts and the investments stand in the beneficiary's name. A WillJini lawyer calls you back within 24 hours.

What if there was no will?

If the person died without a will, the statute decides who inherits what and the bank runs a different procedure: read what happens without a will. If a bank or a society has already asked for probate, WillJini's probate service handles that petition. If you would rather hand the whole transfer over, that is inheritance and property transfer assistance.

Related guides:

• Validity of a registered will in India
• Legal heir certificate vs succession certificate
• Nominee vs legal heir
• Will executors in India and their duties
• Writing a will step by step guide

How does property actually move to a beneficiary under a will?

A will is not a transfer between living persons, so it does not move property just by being signed or registered. A will made by a person of sound mind who is not a minor (section 59 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925) and attested by two or more witnesses in the way section 63(c) sets out, who need not be present at the same time, is valid whether or not it is registered; the step by step guide to writing a will covers the formalities.

When the testator dies, section 211(1) of the Act states that the executor is the legal representative for all purposes, and all the property vests in the executor. The executor's assent is what completes the beneficiary's title to the legacy (section 332). Section 333(1) confirms that the executor's assent to a specific bequest is sufficient to divest the executor's interest and to transfer the subject of the bequest to the legatee. Section 336 gives this assent effect from the death of the testator.

Section 333(2) states that the assent may be verbal, but a bank, a sub-registrar or a housing society will not act on a verbal assent; each wants written proof that the will is genuine and that the other heirs agree. An unregistered will is as valid as a registered one. Registration of a will is optional under section 18(e) of the Registration Act, 1908, because section 17(1)(b) requires registration only of non-testamentary instruments, and section 49, on the effect of non-registration, applies only to documents the Act requires to be registered, which a will is not. What registration changes is what some offices ask for: the Municipal Corporation of Delhi asks for fewer documents when the will is registered. The validity of a registered will guide covers what registration does and does not add.

Do you still need probate to act on a will?

No statute now requires probate anywhere in India. Section 213 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925, which barred a person from establishing a right as executor or legatee without probate or letters of administration, was omitted by section 3 and the Second Schedule of the Repealing and Amending Act, 2025 (Act 37 of 2025). That Act received the President's assent on 20 December 2025 and carries no commencement clause, so the omission took effect on that date; the Gazette of India published it on 21 December 2025. The former rule, that a will covering immovable property in Mumbai, Chennai or Kolkata needed probate, applied under the omitted section and was removed on the same date.

Whether a family needs a grant of probate is now decided by whoever is holding the asset, and by whether anyone disputes the will. The bank's regulator still names probate as the default document where there is a will, and an institution holding an asset may still ask for it. If the family does apply, the court grants probate only to the executor the will appoints, expressly or by necessary implication (section 222); nothing in that section obliges anyone to apply. If a bank or a society has asked for probate, the family applies to the court for the grant, or hands that to WillJini's probate service, whose service page puts the process at about 6 to 12 months, depending on the location, the complexity of the assets and the cooperation of the family. The grant itself, and when an institution asks for it, is explained in what the probate of a will is.

What will the bank ask for?

The Reserve Bank of India's Responsible Business Conduct Directions for commercial banks (RBI/DOR/2025-26/170, issued on 28 November 2025), Chapter VII Section E, set out what a bank asks for when a depositor leaves a will.

The bank starts by asking for probate or letters of administration (paragraph 291), together with its claim form, the death certificate and an official document proving the claimant's identity and address. If the will names a beneficiary who is not a legal heir, the bank asks that person for the applicable documents as well.

You can ask the branch to act on the will under paragraph 292 instead of applying for probate. The bank may do so where there is no dispute among the legal heirs or the beneficiaries and it is satisfied that the will is genuine, and it then asks the family for two more documents. The first is a bond of indemnity signed by the claimants, in the form set out at Annex VII of the Directions. The second is a letter of disclaimer or no objection from the non-claimant legal heirs, in the form at Annex VIII. Paragraph 294 states that the bank may not demand a surety from a third party in this situation.

If the heirs or the beneficiaries dispute the will, the bank will not use that discretion. Under paragraph 293 it settles only against probate, letters of administration, a succession certificate or a court order.

The bank has 15 calendar days from the date it receives all the required documents to settle the claim (paragraph 319). If the delay is the bank's, paragraph 321 entitles the claimant to compensation at not less than the Bank Rate plus 4 percent per annum for the period of delay.

A locker is handled the same way: the bank starts by asking for probate or letters of administration (paragraph 310), may instead act on the will against an indemnity bond and a no-objection (paragraph 311), has 15 calendar days to process the claim and fix a date for the inventory (paragraph 320), and pays compensation of Rs 5,000 for each day of delay beyond that (paragraph 322).

The simplified procedure a bank runs for smaller deposits, which does not call for probate or a succession certificate, applies only where the depositor left no will, under paragraph 287(2). Families handling an intestate estate can read the inheritance without a will guide.

What will the housing society ask for?

In Maharashtra, the society transfers a deceased member's flat under section 154B-13 of the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960. On the death of a member, the society transfers the share, right, title and interest to a person on the basis of testamentary documents, a succession certificate, a legal heirship certificate, or a document of family arrangement. A registered transfer document is not required for a transfer on death, unlike a transfer by a living member. Section 154B-14 gives the society a charge on the deceased member's share and interest to the extent of any dues payable to the society. Section 30 of that Act does not apply to housing societies (section 154B(2)).

If the member had named a nominee, the society admits the nominee as a provisional member only (first proviso to section 154B-13), until the legal heir or the person entitled to the flat and shares under the will is admitted as a member in the deceased member's place. If the society asks for a no objection certificate from the other heirs before admitting the legatee, that document is covered in the no objection certificate for property transfer guide.

What does mutation actually do, and which office does it?

Mutation changes the name in a municipal or revenue record so the government knows who to bill for taxes. It is not a transfer of ownership. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi, Assessment and Collection Department, states in its Office Order for unified e-change of name that mutation is allowed "for the purpose of realization of property tax only. It does not confer any legal title or ownership rights." The Maharashtra Land Revenue Code, 1966 section 157 says an entry in the register of mutations shall be presumed true until the contrary is proved or a new entry is lawfully substituted, and section 158 bars any suit against the State Government on a claim to have an entry made or amended.

Three different offices keep records, and a property transfer often requires updating two of them. The sub-registrar registers instruments under the Registration Act. The revenue authority keeps the record of rights for land. The municipal body keeps the property tax record.

The Delhi municipal office demands different documents based on the will. With a registered will, the applicant submits a copy of the will and confirms in the affidavit that it is the last will and no court case is pending. With an unregistered will, the office asks for a Surviving Member Certificate to establish the number of heirs, and if only one heir applies, a no objection certificate from every other legal heir with photo identity proof. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi does not charge transfer duty when the property passes on death and nothing is paid for it. A succession certificate reaches debts and securities only and cannot by itself transfer a house; if an office asks for one, that is that office's requirement, and the legal heir certificate versus succession certificate guide explains which court document a case needs.

What about shares, mutual funds and bank nominations?

Shares and mutual fund units pass under SEBI's circular of 23 July 2026, in force from 22 August 2026. Its simplified documentation applies up to Rs 10 lakh for securities in physical mode, per listed entity, and Rs 30 lakh for securities in dematerialised mode, per beneficial owner. Above that, one accepted route is a copy of the will with a notarised indemnity bond from the claimant and a notarised affidavit-cum-NOC from all the legal heirs; where there is a dispute or competing claims these rules do not apply and the matter goes to court. The circular removes the mandatory requirement of probate, in line with the amendments to the succession laws.

For bank deposits, a nomination under section 45ZA(2) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 entitles the nominee to receive the amount to the exclusion of all other persons. Payment to the nominee constitutes a full discharge to the banking company under section 45ZA(4), but the Reserve Bank confirms in paragraph 284(3) that the nominee receives the payment as a trustee of the legal heirs. Since 1 November 2025, a depositor may name up to four nominees. Where an account carries a nomination, paragraph 286 instructs banks not to insist on a succession certificate, probate or an indemnity bond, whatever the amount. The nominee versus legal heir guide sets out the position asset by asset.

What can and cannot be left by will?

A person can leave by will the property they own, including their own undivided share of joint family property, but not property that belongs to someone else. Section 30 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 permits any Hindu to dispose of by will any property capable of being so disposed of by them. The Explanation to section 30 deems the interest of a Hindu in Mitakshara coparcenary property to be property capable of being disposed of by will.

Since 9 September 2005, when section 6 was rewritten, a daughter of a coparcener is a coparcener by birth in the same manner as a son, and she can leave the share she takes that way by will. Where a Hindu dies after that date, their interest in the joint family property passes under their will, or by intestate succession under the Act, and no longer passes by survivorship. A person can leave their own share in what families call ancestral property, meaning their share in the coparcenary property. They cannot give away another coparcener's share or another co-owner's share. Schedule III restriction 1 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925 adds two limits: a testator cannot leave by will property they could not have transferred while alive, and cannot use a will to take away a right of maintenance that they could not otherwise have taken away by will.

Under the Income-tax Act, 2025, in force since 1 April 2026, property received under a will or by inheritance is not taxed as income when it is received. If it is later sold, the previous owner's cost is taken as the cost.

What stops a transfer, and is there a time limit?

Four things hold a transfer up.

The first is deciding whether to apply for probate at all. Since no statute requires it, the family chooses between a probate petition, with its court fee and the time it takes, and asking the institution to act on the will instead.

The second is getting every heir onto one piece of paper. The bank's waiver needs a letter of disclaimer or no objection from the non-claimant legal heirs. SEBI's above-threshold route needs an affidavit-cum-NOC from all legal heirs. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi needs a no objection certificate from every other heir if only one heir applies on an unregistered will. An heir who lives abroad or who will not sign stops the transfer at that counter. The heir abroad can still sign: WillJini gathers the declarations remotely, with embassy or e-signature support.

The third is producing a different document set at each counter. The bank wants an indemnity bond in the form at Annex VII of the Directions. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi wants an affidavit on Rs 10 stamp paper and an indemnity bond on Rs 100 stamp paper, both notarised. A Maharashtra housing society wants a testamentary document. If a will's genuineness is doubted, the bank falls back to demanding probate.

The fourth is moving the asset itself: a mutation in a record that does not prove title, and in Maharashtra a report to the Talathi within three months of inheriting the land. Where the title to the property is itself contested, the remedy is a declaration of title suit in the civil court, which decides ownership. That is a court case, not a step in an ordinary transfer.

No single national deadline applies to the transfer itself; each state and each institution has its own time limit for its own step. In Maharashtra, a person who inherits land held under the record of rights must report it to the Talathi within three months (section 149 of the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code, 1966); that is a rule for land, not for a flat in a co-operative society. A bank has 15 calendar days from receipt of all required documents to settle a claim. The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation and the Delhi Tehsildar each state a time frame of 30 days for a mutation. The executor is not bound to pay or deliver any legacy until one year from the testator's death under section 337.

What does handing it over look like?

WillJini takes a transfer through all of these offices in the four steps it publishes on its inheritance and property transfer service page.

1. Legal review and case roadmap. WillJini starts with a consultation to understand the situation, what assets are involved, who the legal heirs are and whether a will exists, and from that it draws up a step by step legal roadmap for the case.
2. Legal heir confirmation and coordination. WillJini identifies the legal heirs, gathers the declarations that are required, and coordinates across the family members even where they are spread across countries, managed remotely with embassy or e-signature support.
3. Legal filings and government liaison. WillJini handles the court filings where the case needs them, liaises with banks, sub-registrars and authorities, and drafts the affidavits and powers of attorney.
4. Asset transfer and title updates. Once the approvals are in, WillJini executes the transfer of the properties, bank accounts, lockers and investments into the beneficiary's name, and guides on FEMA, tax and future sale documentation where needed.

WillJini prices this work on a case to case basis.

FAQs

Is probate mandatory to transfer property with a will in India?

No. Section 213 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925 was omitted by Act 37 of 2025 with effect from 20 December 2025. No statute now requires probate anywhere in India. A bank or any other institution holding an asset may still ask for probate or letters of administration as its default proof before it transfers the asset.

Which property cannot be transferred by will?

A person cannot leave property they do not own, another co-owner's share, or property they could not have alienated while living. They cannot use a will to take away a right of maintenance that they could not otherwise have taken away. They can dispose of their own undivided share of joint family or coparcenary property under section 30 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956.

Is there a time limit for property transfer after death?

No single national deadline covers the whole transfer. Institutions impose specific limits for their own steps. In Maharashtra, a person who inherits land held under the record of rights must report it to the Talathi within three months; that rule is for land, not for a society flat. Banks must settle a claim within 15 calendar days of receiving complete documents. The Hyderabad municipal corporation and the Delhi revenue office each state 30 days for a mutation. The executor is not bound to deliver a legacy until one year from the death.

Does mutation make you the owner?

No. Mutation changes the name in the municipal or revenue record so the government knows who to send the property tax bill to. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi's order says that mutation is for the realisation of property tax only and confers no legal title or ownership rights. In Maharashtra, the entry in the register of mutations is presumed correct until the contrary is proved (section 157 of the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code, 1966).

Can a nominee keep the money if the will names someone else?

For a bank deposit, no: the nominee receives the money but does not keep it as their own. The bank pays the nominee, and once it has paid, its own liability ends (section 45ZA(4) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949). But the nominee holds that money as a trustee of the legal heirs of the deceased depositor (RBI paragraph 284(3)), and anyone with a claim to it keeps that claim against the nominee. The nomination decides whom the bank pays; the will and the succession law decide who keeps it.

Does a will have to be registered to be valid?

No. Registration of a will is entirely optional under section 18(e) of the Registration Act, 1908. A will is legally valid whether registered or not, provided it is made by a person of sound mind who is not a minor, and is properly signed and attested by two or more witnesses under section 63(c) of the Indian Succession Act, 1925.

What happens if one legal heir refuses to sign?

If an heir will not sign the no-objection, the bank cannot act on the will under paragraph 292 and goes back to its default under paragraph 291, probate or letters of administration. If that heir also disputes the will, paragraph 293 applies and the bank settles only against probate, letters of administration, a succession certificate or a court order. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi asks for a no objection certificate from every other heir where only one heir applies on an unregistered will, so a refusal there stops the mutation.

What is the process of transfer of property through a will in India?

The executor assents to the legacy, and the beneficiary gathers the evidence each institution needs. The bank requires either probate or an indemnity bond with heir NOCs. A Maharashtra housing society requires the testamentary document. Each municipal or revenue office prescribes the affidavit or indemnity bond it will accept before it changes the tax record. The beneficiary files the specific document set at each office.