If you are looking for a will format to follow, Indian law does not prescribe one. The Indian Succession Act, 1925 asks for three things: a person of sound mind who is not a minor, a signature placed to give effect to the writing, and two witnesses who attest it. A will can be presented to a Sub-Registrar for registration at any time. Every other part of a will is drafting, and each part is there to prevent a particular problem.

Without a second name in the will, a gift to someone who dies before you falls back into the rest of your estate. If a house is left to a spouse "on trust" for her lifetime, she receives its income, and the house itself goes to the children after her. A Hindu's share in joint family property can be left by will, alongside any self-acquired property. A WillJini lawyer drafts a Customized Will so that each of these is settled before you sign.

Where this page sits

The steps of making a will, from listing what you own to signing in front of witnesses, are set out in how to write a will in India. If you would rather have the clauses drafted for you, WillJini's will writing service starts with a call about your family and what you own.

Related guides:

• How to write a will in India, step by step
• Who can be a witness to a will
• What an executor of a will does
• How to register a will

What Is the Format of a Will in India?

Section 2(h) of the Act defines a will as "the legal declaration of the intention of a testator with respect to his property which he desires to be carried into effect after his death". Section 74 adds that no "technical words or terms of art" are needed, "but only that the wording be such that the intentions of the testator can be known therefrom". So the will format in India is whatever wording makes your intentions clear, signed the way the Act requires.

Section 59 says who may make one: "Every person of sound mind not being a minor may dispose of his property by will". Section 63 says how it is signed: you sign or put your mark on the will, or someone else signs it in your presence and by your direction, and the signature must be placed so that it appears "intended thereby to give effect to the writing as a will". Two or more witnesses then attest it, each having seen you sign or had your acknowledgment of the signature, and each signing in your presence, and section 63(c) adds that "no particular form of attestation shall be necessary".

What Does a Sample Will Format in India Look Like?

This is a sample will format for India, with the reason for each clause beside it. Everything in square brackets is yours to fill in, and each clause is explained below it on this page.

What Does a Will Deed Format Contain, Clause by Clause?

A will deed contains these clauses, in this order.

Declaration and revocation

The will opens by naming you, with your address, and saying that this is your last will. It records that you make the will of sound mind and of your own free will. Section 61 still makes a will or any part of it void if it is "caused by fraud or coercion, or by such importunity as takes away the free agency of the testator".

The revocation clause follows, cancelling every earlier will and codicil. Section 70 allows a will to be revoked "by another will or codicil", so this clause is how the new will cancels the old.

Executor

This clause names the person who carries out your will, and a substitute to act if the first cannot. Section 2(c) defines the executor as the person to whom the execution of your will is "confided". Under section 68, your executor may also witness the will. The role is explained in the duties of an executor of a will.

The gifts

Each gift names the person who receives it and identifies the asset, such as the flat by its address and the account by its number, without a value, for reasons given in how to write a will in India. A share in joint family property is named as such, because it can be left by will (see below).

Where a life insurance policy on your own life names a parent, spouse or child as nominee, section 39(7) of the Insurance Act, 1938 makes that nominee "beneficially entitled" to the amount payable, for policies maturing after the 2015 amendment. A line in your will leaving the policy money to someone else does not decide who is paid, so the nominations should match the will; nominee vs legal heir covers the rest.

For a gift to your spouse, property given "absolutely" becomes your spouse's own, while property given to trustees "on trust" for your spouse's lifetime gives your spouse the income and leaves the property with the trustees, as the government model below does.

Residuary clause

The residuary clause says who receives everything the will has not named. Why every will needs one is set out in how to write a will in India.

What happens if a beneficiary dies first

Your will should name a second person for every gift, in case the first dies before you. Section 105(1) says that if the person you named does not survive you, the gift "shall lapse and form part of the residue", unless your will shows you meant it to go to someone else. Illustration (iii) to section 105 shows the wording that prevents this: "A legacy is given to A, and, in case of his dying before the testator, to B. A dies before the testator. The legacy goes to B."

If the person who dies before you was also to take the residue, section 108 says that share "shall go as undisposed of", which means it passes as though you had left no will for it. The Act makes one exception in section 109: a gift to your child or another lineal descendant does not lapse if that person's own lineal descendant survives you, but this exception does not apply to a gift to a spouse. Sections 105, 108 and 109 are applied by section 57 and Schedule III to wills made by Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs and Jains.

Guardian for minors

Each parent names the guardian for minor children in their own will. Under section 9(2) of the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956, a father's appointment "shall have no effect if the father predeceases the mother".

Signature

Your signature or mark goes at the end of the writing, placed so that it gives effect to everything above it as your will. Section 71 gives no effect to a cancellation, an insertion or any other alteration made after execution unless it is signed and witnessed like the will, near the change. A change can also be made by a codicil, signed and witnessed in the same way.

Attestation by two witnesses

The attestation clause records that two witnesses saw you sign and signed in your presence, as section 63(c) requires. They need not have been present together. Who should and should not be asked to witness is covered in who can be a witness to a will.

Date and place

No statute requires a will to carry a date or a place. The date still matters, because it is how a later will is shown to be the later one, and under section 70 the later will revokes the earlier.

What Does the Government Model Will Deed Give the Spouse?

Karnataka's stamps and registration department publishes a model will deed, and Telangana's registration department publishes one with the same operative words in its clause 5. The model appoints the executors "as the executor of this will and trustees of my estate". It gives "all my property in whatever form existing at the time of my death to the said executor and trustees to hold the same on trust for the benefit of my wife".

The trustees are to "pay the net income to my wife" and "will not be entitled to sell my immovable property above mentioned or mortgage the same". After her death the property goes to the children in equal shares.

Under that wording the wife has a life interest under a trust: she receives the income for her lifetime, while the trustees hold the property and it passes to the children after her. A will that leaves the property to the spouse outright says so, with a word such as "absolutely". Both are lawful plans, and the wording of the will decides whether the spouse receives the property absolutely or only its income.

Can a Will Leave a Share in Joint Family Property?

A Hindu may leave by will his or her interest in Mitakshara coparcenary property, which is joint family property. Section 30 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 lets any Hindu dispose of property by will in accordance with the Indian Succession Act, and its Explanation deems the interest in a Mitakshara coparcenary to be "property capable of being disposed of by him or by her". Section 6(2) says the same of the coparcenary property a daughter holds.

A will is therefore not limited to self-acquired property, and a share you hold in joint family property belongs in its own gift, described as your interest in the coparcenary.

Does a Will Need Stamp Paper or Registration?

Under the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 there is no stamp duty on a will. What registration costs is set out in will registration charges in Mumbai.

Registration is optional: section 18 of the Registration Act, 1908 lists wills among the documents that "may be registered", and section 27 says a will "may at any time be presented for registration or deposited". Under section 40(1) you may present it yourself, or after your death any person claiming as executor or otherwise under the will may present it to any Registrar or Sub-Registrar. The steps are in how to register a will.

A will can also be kept in official custody without registering it. Section 42 lets you deposit it with any Registrar "in a sealed cover", and under section 43(2) the Registrar keeps it in his "fire-proof box" until you withdraw it under section 44.

Is the Will Format Different for a Muslim?

Section 58(1) of the Indian Succession Act, 1925 says its provisions on wills "shall not apply to testamentary succession to the property of any Muhammadan". In 1988 a Division Bench of the Bombay High Court held that "a Muslim cannot bequeath more than one-third of his property whether in favour of a stranger or his heir when there are heirs". A gift beyond one-third takes effect only if the heirs consent to it after the death.

How Does WillJini Draft a Will?

WillJini makes three kinds of will, depending on how much of the drafting you want a lawyer to do. For a Customized Will, a WillJini lawyer drafts it around your property and your family. You have one point of contact from start to finish, meetings by video or audio call, and more than one draft with feedback sessions. It costs Rs 14,999 plus GST. A Mirror Will or Joint Will for a couple costs Rs 19,999 plus GST.

The Detailed Will, WillJini's online will, is for a straightforward will: you answer questions online, list every asset, preview the draft, then print it and sign it in front of two witnesses, for Rs 7,499 plus GST.

Use the enquiry form on WillJini's will writing service or call 08065606109, and a WillJini lawyer calls you back within 24 hours.

FAQs

Is a will written on plain paper valid?

A will on plain paper is valid if it is signed and attested as section 63 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925 requires. Under the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 there is no stamp duty on a will.

How many witnesses does a will need in India?

A will needs at least two witnesses. Section 63(c) of the Indian Succession Act, 1925 requires attestation "by two or more witnesses", each signing in the maker's presence, though not necessarily at the same time.

Who can make a will in India?

Any person of sound mind who is not a minor can make a will, under section 59 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925. No one can make a will while intoxication or illness leaves them not knowing what they are doing.

Can the executor of a will also be a witness?

An executor can also witness the will. Section 68 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925 says no one is disqualified as a witness by having an interest in the will or by being its executor.

Can I change my will after signing it?

You can revoke or change your will at any time while you remain competent to make one, under section 62 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925. Under section 71, a change written on the will after signing has effect only if it is signed and witnessed like the will.

Is there a fixed will deed format prescribed by law?

Indian law prescribes no fixed format. Section 74 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925 says no technical words are needed, "but only that the wording be such that the intentions of the testator can be known therefrom".

Can a will be deposited with the Registrar in a sealed cover?

A will can be deposited in a sealed cover. Section 42 of the Registration Act, 1908 lets any testator, personally or through an authorised agent, deposit it with any Registrar in a sealed cover marked with the testator's name and the nature of the document.

What happens to a gift if the beneficiary dies before the person who made the will?

The gift lapses and falls into the residue under section 105(1) of the Indian Succession Act, 1925, unless the will names who takes it instead. Section 109 saves a gift to a child or other lineal descendant whose own lineal descendant survives.